How Monarch: Legacy of Monsters Ties to Kong: Skull Island

Spoilers follow for Monarch: Legacy of Monsters! Monarch: Legacy of Monsters is now streaming on Apple TV+ and the MonsterVerse series from Legendary quickly ties itself to the other movies in the series. Though Godzilla and his presence loom large over the entire series, Monarch: Legacy of Monsters actually begins by tying itself to 2017’s Kong: Skull Island. The opening scene of Monarch: Legacy of Monsters flashes back to the events of the film, revealing us John Goodman’s character, Bill Randa, who is recording a message on a camera while exploring the island at some point during Kong: Skull Island.

Looking directly into camera, Randa says the first lines of Monarch: Legacy of Monsters, adding: “Hey buddy, I don’t know if this will get to you, I hope so, actually I don’t because it would probably mean I’m dead, which you may not feel too busted up about. Sorry, got to keep this short. You may never forgive me for what I took from you, and I can’t go back in time and fix all the mistakes I made, but maybe i can leave something for hte future. A legacy, and you’ll realize it was all worth it.”

After this he’s chased by one of the giant spiders from Kong: Skull Island, whose long green legs are easy to mistake for bamboo trees. As he stands on the edge of a cliff with the ocean roaring behind him and a giant beast roaring in front of him, Randa stuffs the camera with his message inside a protective bag and chucks it into the sea, assuming that he will follow suit. Much to his surprise, a giant kaiju crustacean arises from the rocks in front of him, not only fighting off the spider but sending them both into the ocean depths. Randa survives (for hte time) and his bag with his message floats away. 

Monarch: Legacy of Monsters’ connectivity to Kong: Skull Island doesn’t end with its first scene however. The video that Randa recorded along with his many other theories and documents for Monarch are a pivotal part of the larger plot, bringing together Anna Sawai’s Cate and Ren Watabe’s Kentaro as they’re forced to reconsider the truth about their father (having realized that he kept his two families a secret from each other before his death); what also becomes clear as this plot unfolds in Monarch: Legacy of Monsters‘ first two episodes however is that Cate and Kentaro’s father is none other than Hiroshi, the son of John Goodman’s Bill Randa and the person he was recording his message for in the episode’s opening.

Even still the Kong: Skull Island Easter eggs don’t stop. Workaholics star Anders Holm appears in Monarch: Legacy of Monsters, taking on the role of the young Bill Randa. Holm stars alongside Wyatt Russell’s Lee Shaw and Mari Yamamoto’s Keiko in the flashback sequences of Monarch: Legacy of Monsters. Not only do we see all three of these characters exploring the world for MUTOs (Massive Unidentified Terrestrial Organism) but we see them bonding and forming a tightknit friendship. 

Episode 2 of Monarch: Legacy of Monsters solidifies this even further by featuring, what else, another major Easter egg connecting it to Kong: Skull Island. In the 2017 feature film, it’s revealed that Bill Randa was serving on the USS Lawton during World War II, only for the ship to be attacked by a Titan and leaving him as the only survivor. Monarch: Legacy of Monsters unites him with Lee Shaw and Keiko as the trio find themselves in the jungles of the Philippines. After realizing they’re all there for the same reasons, though perhaps with different motives, they stumble upon none other then the wreckage of the USS Lawton, now home to a dangerous dragon-like kaiju.

With two episodes already under its belt, Monarch: Legacy of Monsters has not only made it VERY clear how connected it is to the Godzilla movies of the MonsterVerse but it hasn’t left Kong: Skull Island out in the slightest. Not only does a major question get answered about Bill Randa’s backstory from Kong: Skull Island, but the character is getting new life thanks to the multiple eras at the center of Monarch: Legacy of Monsters; plus, the very first scene of the entire series takes place on Skull Island. With eight more episode of Monarch: Legacy of Monsters set to roll out through the rest of the year there’s still a lot of time to reconnect even further to Kong: Skull Island and the other MonsterVerse movies.