Steven Prusakowski
Godzilla is a multi-generational experience in that from the very beginning it was a terrifying yet fascinating world parents shared with their children and then shared with their children and so on and so on. The new Apple TV+ series, Monarch: Legacy of Monsters, directed by Matt Shakman, takes the multi-generational adventure to the next level thanks to an on-screen pairing of two generations of Russells, Kurt and Wyatt Russell. It’s a true family affair.
For the series the father and son actors do not play parent and child, instead they tackle the same role as Lee Shaw – one set in 2015 and the younger version of the character set in the 1950s. In a series full of jaw-dropping special effects, their remarkable likeness is right on the list. The Russell pair provide two different perspectives of Shaw’s quest to expose the secretive organization known as Monarch and the monsters they have hidden.
Continuing the family theme are Executive producer Tory Tunnell who is joined by her husband Joby Harold, whose production company Safehouse Pictures in a joint-venture production with Legendary Television and Toho produced the ambitious series. “We knew that we wanted to go to Kurt,” explained Tunnell. “Our casting director had pointed out that Wyatt would be an amazing person to play a younger Kurt Russell. They obviously have the resemblance and they had so much fun building this character together.” The father/son team worked together to ensure the characters not only looked similar but felt like the same person. “They really created a character that feels seamless across time. And we think it’s so exciting and they had a blast doing it.”
Showrunner, Chris Black (Severance, Desperate Housewives) could not pinpoint one specific moment that served as his intro into the world of Godzilla, but did recall an experience many longtime fans share, watching the series on a black and white television on Saturday afternoons. “Every week it would be Godzilla or Rodan or Ghidorah or whomever,” said Black who co-created the series with Matt Fraction. “It was an obsessive love affair from the beginning.”
Stepping into the giant footsteps of the Godzilla franchise which has been going strong since it started back in 1954 could feel intimidating. “We made the pilgrimage to Toho Studios where they have the Godzilla statue at the entrance at the gates of the studio. And you feel the weight and the legacy of the history of this. But at the same time, we knew we had their support,” recalled Black. “We just had to sort of hunker down and just tell the best character driven story that we could and just focus on that and try to sort of not feel the burden of history.”
To help create that world visually the team relied on the Visual Effects Supervisor, Sean Konrad (Ms. Marvel, For All Mankind). He had the challenge of not only matching the massive MonsterVerse scale on the small screen, but also delivering creature designs that fit seamlessly into this world. “It’s the biggest challenge and it’s also the most fun part of the job,” said Konrad. The script would often provide a clear delineation of what the writers wanted and other times he would work with Black to create something completely new. “I take a lot of inspiration from the weird, creepy things at the bottom of the ocean,” said Konrad. “We’d be like, ‘Oh, that’s interesting, let’s take that and combine it with this beetle.’”
Monarch: Legacy of Monsters looks to be the next chapter in the long line of Godzilla-related stories shared across generations. “I think that people that haven’t ever seen anything in the MonsterVerse are going to show up and be really surprised by the level of emotional engagement and fall in love with these characters across time who have real struggles and romances and all of the trials and tribulations that it means to be human,” said Tunnell.
New episodes of Monarch: Legacy of Monsters premiere each Friday with the 10-episode season concluding in January 2024. Fans will be thankful that episode three dropped a couple of days early for the holiday. A monster-sized addition to the family’s Thanksgiving viewing menu.
The complete interviews with Tory Tunnell, Chris Black, Matt Fraction, & Sean Konrad below.
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