The Monsterverse’s Godzilla Spinoff Is Officially Getting Its Own Prequel (& a Horrific New Titan)

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Warner Bros. has built a successful movie franchise around its “Monsterverse,” featuring Godzilla and King Kong. This led to the 2021 crossover film, Godzilla vs. Kong, and then expanded with the Apple TV+ series Monarch: Legacy of Monsters in 2023. Now, it’s been reported that Legacy of Monsters will get its own spin-off series, telling the story of how the Monarch organization originally began.

Apple TV is creating a new series focusing on the origins of Monarch, the organization from the Legacy of Monsters universe. The show will star Wyatt Russell as a young Colonel Lee Shaw, exploring how he first encountered the Titans and helped establish Monarch. Legacy of Monsters Season 1 starts in 1952, following Shaw as he works with scientist Keiko Miura and meets a young Bill Randa while investigating Titan radiation. The season jumps to 1982, where Shaw returns from a disastrous mission to Hollow Earth, only to find out time passes much faster there – days spent in Hollow Earth equal 20 years in the real world.

The show surprised viewers by revealing that Wyatt Russell’s character, John Shaw, was actually the older version of the character his father, Kurt Russell, played years ago. We learn Shaw spent thirty-two years imprisoned in a Monarch facility, attempting numerous escapes before accepting his fate. This new spin-off series will focus on one of Shaw’s early missions before his capture.

Monarch: Legacy of Monsters‘ New Spinoff Brings Titans to the Cold War

The new Apple TV+ series centers around Colonel Lee Shaw (played by Russell), an American spy sent on a dangerous solo mission in 1984. His goal: to prevent the Soviets from deploying a massive new weapon – a ‘Titan’ – that could potentially destroy the United States and change the course of the Cold War.

Based on the latest information, the backstory for Shaw is changing. Instead of simply being held in a Monarch facility for thirty years, it appears he was an active agent used by Monarch (or the US government) to deal with Titan-related events. The fact that the story is set in 1984, while the Soviet Union was involved with Titans, is interesting. It’s close to the Chernobyl disaster of 1986, which could potentially be linked to Titans in a future story or season of this Shaw spin-off.

Monsterverse Is Doing TV Spinoffs Right

Season 1 of Legacy of Monsters turned out to be a crucial addition to the Monsterverse storyline. The show introduced a surprising time distortion element during the early explorations of Hollow Earth, and it revealed important connections between the main characters. Although Shaw appears to die at the end of the season, it’s evident that his story isn’t finished and he could return in the future.

This new series is a promising development. The Godzilla movies established that the Monarch organization has a history of secretly fighting against governments, scientists, and armed groups to protect giant creatures (Titans) and prevent them from becoming dangerous. This new show could tie into films like Godzilla: King of the Monsters by exploring how the existence of Titans disrupted the world of espionage, causing major shifts in power. Characters like Alan Jonah, the eco-terrorist from previous films (potentially played by a younger actor), could reappear as the show moves from the US to Europe and eventually the Soviet Union. Fans are also hoping to see Kurt Russell make an appearance to provide a satisfying connection to the earlier films.

Overall, this feels like a positive move for the Monsterverse, even though it’s a story that goes before the prequel. It’s similar to how Star Wars found success with the series Andor, so hopefully this new show featuring Shaw will help establish the Monsterverse as something more than just big monster battles.

You can watch Monarch: Legacy of Monsters on Apple TV. The next movie in the Monsterverse series will be Godzilla x Kong: Supernova.

https://comicbook.com/tv-shows/news/monarch-legacy-of-monsters-season-two-shares-first-look-at-godzillas-return/embed/#

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2025-12-18 20:41