After years of pushing it off, Wyatt Russell finally decided to work with his father, Kurt Russell, on a project. The duo collaborated on Monarch: Legacy of Monsters, the Godzilla series for Apple TV+. Being the son of acting royalty influenced Russell’s decision to avoid working with his father at the beginning of his career.
“[Starting out,] I just wanted to do something that was my own. I’ve now been doing this for 15 years, and I wouldn’t have been able to do [something like Monarch] 10 years ago,” Russell said to The Hollywood Reporter. “So this felt like a time where I could go, ‘You know what? I can stand on my own here and actually be an addition to [Monarch] in a way that I wouldn’t have been able to be, at all, 10 years ago.’”
Who is Involved in Monarch: Legacy of Monsters?
Wyatt plays the younger version of U.S. Army Colonel Lee Shaw, with Kurt playing the older present-day version. The rest of Monarch’s ensemble features Anna Sawai, Ren Watabe, Kiersey Clemons, Mari Yamamoto, Anders Holm, Joe Tippett, and Elisa Lasowski.
The official synopsis reads: “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. 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.”
Chris Black and Matt Fraction co-created Monarch: Legacy of Monsters, the second television series in the MonsterVerse behind Netflix’s Skull Island. The first six episodes of Monarch are now streaming on Apple TV+. Episode 7 premieres Friday, December 22. Season 1 consists of 10 episodes, with the finale airing on January 12, 2024.
