Monarch: Legacy of Monsters Star Mari Yamamoto Breaks Down Keiko’s Journey, Monster Deep Cuts & Rodan’s Return [Exclusive]

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In the Apple TV+ series Monarch: Legacy of Monsters, Keiko, played by Mari Yamamoto, is a scientist who finds herself out of time. She originally helped create the Monarch organization in the 1950s to research Godzilla and other giant creatures. During a dangerous mission, she disappeared and was thought to be dead. However, she became trapped in a strange, timeless realm called the Axis Mundi for 57 days, which ended up being decades in the present day. When she returned, she hadn’t aged much, but everyone she knew had grown older. Now, she’s reconnecting with Lee Shaw (Kurt Russell), who is now older, and getting to know her adult grandchildren, Cate (Anna Sawai) and Kentaro (Ren Watabe).

The second season of Monarch culminates in a high-stakes finale, “We Belong Here.” The Monarch team heads to Skull Island, determined to send Titan X (also known as Co’cai) back through a dimensional rift. However, Apex Cybernetics has a different agenda: they want to use Titan X to defeat Kong, putting innocent lives in danger. Yamamoto recently discussed the shocking Shaw reveal, Keiko’s connection with the Titans, the arrival of Rodan, and the newly formed Monarch team with ComicBook.

In the final episode, Keiko learns something shocking: Lee Shaw (Kurt Russell) was present at Axis Mundi when she was abandoned. What was her reaction to this revelation?

There are a lot of layers to the story, but at its heart, it feels like a betrayal. The core idea is that it’s a story about three people connecting and communicating over years and distances. It’s a love story, in a way, between the three of them. I specifically remember wanting a line in the season finale—when Keiko and old Shaw meet—where one of them says they’ve been having conversations in their head the whole time. Even after someone is gone, they continue to talk to each other internally. That’s what I always found beautiful about it. The idea that Keiko spent those two months, 59 years later, wanting to connect with them, and Shaw had the chance but didn’t take it… it’s a betrayal, and a shock that they could have had that time together. But ultimately, her biggest pain is that he took away precious time with her child. That ‘what if’ is the most heartbreaking part of it all.

Keiko helps Cate out as Kong and Titan X cause chaos and destruction. Just how much of that action was captured while you were driving the jeep? And was the footage shot on location, or did you use a stabilizing gimbal?

Whenever you see me in a driving scene, that’s actually me. But when you see a car driving on just one tire, that’s our amazing stunt team – originally from Australia, and they also worked with us in Thailand. I had two stunt doubles, one of whom was a woman who worked with me all season and was fantastic. The really cool part is that the cars used for those stunts were specially built. They had a hidden seat in the back where a skilled driver would actually control the car while I appeared to be driving. This driver and his father, both stunt performers themselves, designed the cars so it would look like I was handling the driving, but the real work happened behind the scenes. Sometimes, he’d even wear a wig and my costume to drive, adding to the illusion. It was a whole elaborate setup!

Tom Cruise is famous for his running, but Keiko does a lot of fast running in this episode too. Did watching it make you enjoy action scenes more?

You know, the running scenes were a real challenge! Anna Sawai and I did a lot of running throughout the season, and actually, the very last shot we filmed was the two of us running. I remember it so clearly. It was tough because we were running straight towards the camera, which means you can’t actually run that fast, but we still had to convincingly look like we were desperately fleeing for our lives. Anna is amazing – she’s got this incredible, almost Tom Cruise-like running style. But my character, Keiko, isn’t an athlete; she’s a scientist, so I had to run more like a regular person. The biggest struggle was finding that balance – going slowly enough to be realistic, but still looking like we were in genuine danger!

Keiko has a special bond with her granddaughter, Cate. However, she’s concerned about the choices her grandson, Kentaro, has been making.

Filming Hiroshi’s death scene was really powerful, especially with Kentaro arriving right after. It’s a truly heartbreaking moment – it’s like my character literally sees a double of Hiroshi in Kentaro, and the weight of what she did – leaving Hiroshi – crashes down on her. She’s overwhelmed with guilt, not just for what happened, but because Kentaro never got to say goodbye to his father. It’s a really delicate situation, and I think she’s unsure how to navigate it. Interestingly, she finds a parallel between herself and Cate; Cate is always the first to embrace even the wildest ideas. As a scientist, she sees ‘miracles’ in the body every day, so a crazy thought just fuels her curiosity – she’s all in! But connecting with Kentaro is different. He’s much more reserved and harder to read, and she really struggles to reach him. Unfortunately, with everything happening this season, we didn’t get the chance to fully explore their connection, which is something I really wish we had.

After everything that happened, Monarch has essentially been rebuilt. Do you think this new version gives her a clear direction for the future?

Yes, the core of this season is really about finding purpose and belonging. In episode 8, you see her directly questioning where she fits in, and she’s still very lost – remember, all of this happens within just ten days. I’ve been describing her journey this season as ‘grieving while on the move’ because she’s so disoriented. Right now, she’s grounding herself through studying the monsters and the science behind them. That’s what’s been keeping her focused, and it’s how she connects with Cate. Cate becomes another reason for her to keep going, as Keiko wants to support her. Keiko is a very loving person, and she needs someone to direct all that affection towards, especially since everyone she knew is gone. Having someone to love gives her a reason to stay, alongside her enduring passion for the monsters.

Let’s discuss the monsters! How thrilled were you to see Rodan appear at the end of the episode, and what do you think its arrival means for the story and Keiko’s character?

This season has been full of fascinating discoveries for her, particularly learning that the monsters communicate. It’s a welcome distraction from the grief she still feels over losing her husband and son. She’s amazed by everything she’s finding out, especially considering her knowledge is based on information from 1959. She remembered seeing eggs before falling into Axis Mundi, hinting she knew they reproduce, but witnessing Co’cai with her egg and maternal instincts was truly captivating. The season also includes a reference to Pulgasari, a nice nod to classic monster movies. Interestingly, she even met someone who worked on the original Godzilla film and also created Pulgasari, making the connection even more special. For Keiko, uncovering these new creatures is thrilling, and for the show as a whole, it’s fantastic to build on the rich history of all the Kaiju.

It’s a big deal to see these iconic monsters come into play. 

I’d really like to see Keiko form a bond with some of the creatures around here. Cate has that connection with Co’cai, and while Keiko’s interest seems to be mostly one-sided, it would be great if the creatures acknowledged her feelings somehow.

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2026-05-09 19:13