Monarch: Legacy of Monsters
Series, 2023, Discovery, Set in 1950s & 2015
Monarch: Legacy of Monsters is #6 of 7 in release order and #3 of 7 in chronological order in the MonsterVerse.
The story
After surviving Godzilla's attack on San Francisco, Cate is shaken yet again by a shocking secret. Amid monstrous threats, she embarks on a globetrotting adventure to learn the truth about her family—and the mysterious organization known as Monarch.
Monarch: Legacy of Monsters recap
In season 1, set in 2015 after Godzilla's attack on San Francisco, Cate Randa travels to Tokyo and discovers that her missing father Hiroshi had a second family, including her half brother Kentaro. With Kentaro's ex-girlfriend May, they find Hiroshi's files on Monarch, and an aging Lee Shaw, a founding Monarch officer, helps them escape the agency. Flashbacks to the 1950s show Bill Randa, the scientist Keiko Miura and a young Lee Shaw forming Monarch, following Godzilla, and falling into a love triangle; Keiko marries Bill and is lost in 1962. Cate, May and Shaw are pulled into Axis Mundi, a realm between the surface and the Hollow Earth where time runs differently, and find Keiko there, still young. In season 2, Kong's attack on the Skull Island station wakes a tentacled sea Titan, Titan X, worshipped by a cult on the island of Santa Soledad that Shaw, Keiko and Bill visited in 1957. Apex Cybernetics chases the Titan for its own ends. Hiroshi dies saving Cate, and Titan X lays an egg that Godzilla attacks.
Monarch: Legacy of Monsters ending explained
Season 1 ends with Cate, May and Keiko escaping Axis Mundi while Shaw is left behind, and the reunited family on Skull Island as Kong approaches. Season 2 ends with Cate leading Titan X and its egg back to Axis Mundi. Six weeks later, Monarch recruits Cate, May and Keiko to track Kentaro, who has gone off with Apex's Isabel Simmons, and Shaw sees Rodan in Thailand.
Where to watch Monarch: Legacy of Monsters
Monarch: Legacy of Monsters is streaming on Apple TV in the US.
Ratings
IMDb 7.0/10, Rotten Tomatoes 81%
Where it fits
- Release order: after Skull Island, before Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire.
- Chronological order: after Godzilla, before Godzilla: King of the Monsters.
What to watch before Monarch: Legacy of Monsters
In release order, the essentials before Monarch: Legacy of Monsters (2023) are Godzilla (2014), Kong: Skull Island (2017), Godzilla: King of the Monsters (2019), and Godzilla vs. Kong (2021). Monarch: Legacy of Monsters itself is optional in the MonsterVerse order.
Cast
- Anna Sawai as Cate Randa
- Kiersey Clemons as May Olowe-Hewitt
- Ren Watabe as Kentaro Randa
- Mari Yamamoto as Keiko Randa
- Anders Holm as Young Bill Randa
- Joe Tippett as Tim
- Wyatt Russell as Young Lee Shaw
- Kurt Russell as Lee Shaw
- Takehiro Hira as Hiroshi Randa
- Elisa Lasowski as Michelle Duvall
- Mirelly Taylor as Natalia Verdugo
- Qyoko Kudo as Emiko Randa
Created by Matt Fraction, Chris Black.