Later this month, Apple TV’s biggest television show is returning to the small screen, and kaiju fans have plenty to be excited about. While the streaming service has seen success with the likes of soccer shenanigans in Ted Lasso and espionage antics in Slow Horses, one monstrous series has reigned supreme since it first premiered in 2023. With the King of the Monsters and the ruler of Skull Island set to make a comeback this month and return to theaters next year, Apple subscribers are returning to the MonsterVerse to make sure they’re up to date on this sci-fi world.
Videos by ComicBook.com
Monarch: Legacy of Monsters roared onto the scene to become the biggest original series for Apple TV, but nothing lasts forever. Following its premiere, the Godzilla/Kong-centric series eventually slid down the charts, but has once again hit the top ten as fans either check out the series before its second season premiere or refresh themselves on the story of Monarch. As of the writing of this article, Monarch: Legacy of Monsters is the fourth highest-streamed show on the streaming service, only defeated by the likes of Shrinking, Tehran, and Hijack. With the MonsterVerse entry travelling to the Hollow Earth and bending the rules of space and time, it makes sense that kaiju enthusiasts would want to revisit the Legacy of Monsters.
What Monarch: Legacy of Monsters’ Second Season Will Be
Monarch: Legacy of Monsters took place in two different time periods, travelling to 1959 to witness the emergence of kaiju and 2014 to follow the events of Godzilla’s initial arrival in the MonsterVerse. In both timelines, the kaiju-studying organization attempted to bring down the chaos of the giant monsters while also fighting against the machinations of the U.S. government. While Godzilla was the biggest recognizable beast to be a part of the majority of the first season, Kong made an appearance in the season finale. Skull Island’s ruler has been featured in promotional material for season two, meaning Kong is sure to take a far larger role in Monarch’s return.
In the trailers for the Apple TV show’s comeback, new kaiju have been highlighted to join the MonsterVerse. It has yet to be seen if any of these new Titans are re-imaginings of classic Toho kaiju, though the showrunners have stated in the past that they are hoping to bring in more well-known monsters into the fray. Last year, we had the opportunity to chat with series creators Matt Fraction and Chris Black, hinting at who they wanted to appear.
Black kicked things off during the interview hoping to see the smog monster Hedorah arrive in Monarch: Legacy of Monsters, stating, “Listen, Toho has a strong bench. I personally love Hoedorah the Smog Monster. Toho have been incredible collaborators, and I think any of their creations would be available to us if we wanted to bring them into our world.” On the flip side, Fraction was hoping to introduce Jet Jaguar to the MonsterVerse proper: “It’s a very deep bench, and I think everyone has their own favorites. I love Jet Jaguar, he’s not quite a kaiju, but I love Jet Jaguar.”
What do you think? Leave a comment below and join the conversation now in the ComicBook Forum!
Most Viewed
-
Image Courtesy of MAPPA -
Image courtesy of Amazon MGM Studios -
Image courtesy of Tor Books/Macmillan
