The Monsterverse is expanding.
Apple TV+ announced today the title of its highly anticipated sci-fi drama based on Legendary’s Monsterverse as Monarch: Legacy of Monsters.
It’s an excellent title, and we’re sure it will be one of the biggest action series in Apple TV+ history.
The cast is also pretty impressive.
Kurt Russell, Wyatt Russell, Anna Sawai, Kiersey Clemons, Ren Watabe, Mari Yamamoto, Anders Holm, Joe Tippett, and Elisa Lasowski are set to star.
“Following the thunderous battle between Godzilla and the Titans that leveled San Francisco and the shocking revelation that monsters are real, Monarch: Legacy of Monsters tracks two siblings following in their father’s footsteps to uncover their family’s connection to the secretive organization known as Monarch,” the official logline reads.
“Clues lead them into the world of monsters and ultimately down the rabbit hole to Army officer Lee Shaw (played by Kurt Russell and Wyatt Russell), taking place in the 1950s and half a century later where Monarch is threatened by what Shaw knows.”
“The dramatic saga – spanning three generations – reveals buried secrets and the ways that epic, earth-shattering events can reverberate through our lives,” the logline concludes.
It sounds like a sprawling, big-budget epic, so seeing how the franchise translates to the small screen will be fun.
If Apple TV+’s previous originals have taught us anything, no expense will be spared in making the series.
The ambitious project is co-developed by Chris Black (Severance, Star Trek: Enterprise, Outcast,) and Matt Fraction (Hawkeye).
Matt Shakman (Wandavision) directs the first two episodes.
Hailing from Legendary Television, the series is executive produced by Black, Fraction, and Shakman alongside Joby Harold (Obi-Wan Kenobi, Transformers: Rise of the Beasts) and Tory Tunnell (Spinning Out, Underground) from Safehouse Pictures.
Also serving as EPs are Matt Shakman (Wandavision), Andy Goddard (Carnival Row, Downton Abbey), Brad Van Arragon (Yellowjackets, Carnival Row), and Andrew Colville (Severance, Star Trek: Discovery).
Hiro Matsuoka and Takemasa Arita executive produce on behalf of Toho Co., Ltd., the owner of the Godzilla character.
“Toho licensed the rights to Legendary for Monarch: Legacy of Monsters as a natural byproduct of their long-term relationship with the film franchise,” the streaming service says in a press release.
Legendary Entertainment’s Monsterverse is an epic entertainment universe of interconnected stories that bring together popular culture’s most titanic forces of nature.
“Witness humanity’s greatest battle for survival as we fight for our world in the face of a catastrophic new reality—the monsters of our myths and legends are real,” the description for the project teases.
Beginning in 2014 with Godzilla and continuing with 2017’s Kong: Skull Island, 2019’s Godzilla: King of the Monsters, and 2021’s “Godzilla vs. Kong, the Monsterverse has grossed nearly two billion dollars globally at the box office.
Despite the move to the small screen, the franchise is ever-expanding, with the highly anticipated sequel Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire in the works.
What are your thoughts on the first details of the project?
Paul Dailly is the Associate Editor for TV Fanatic. Follow him on Twitter.