What Happened to ‘Monarch: Legacy of Monsters?'

I remember being so thoroughly hyped for the 2014 Godzilla, thanks to its rad trailer. Then, I saw it, and it was fine. Don’t think I’ve seen it since. But, Godzilla: King of the Monsters? The sequel to that 2014 film that was going to introduce all kinds of fun and familiar kaiju to this take on the franchise?! It was alright. Godzilla vs Kong? Meh (though I’ve liked it more on rewatch). I don’t even think I’ve seen the sequel, but I’ve seen clips from it of Kong showering, which… sounds weirder than it is… I think.

The most fun I’ve had with this iteration of Godzilla and his amazing friends was with Kong: Skull Island, which boasts a stacked cast and fantastic energy, and Monarch: Legacy of Monsters. The latter is an Apple TV+ show that details the origins of Monarch, a shady government organization that tracks the world’s giant monsters. It’s got Wyatt and Kurt Russell playing the same character, some incredible emotional payoff, and big ole monsters on the small screen.

My ability to watch shows upon release since my kids were born has been lessened. While it is now much worse than it was two years ago, when the first season of Monarch was released, it was still hard. Regardless, I kept up with the show pretty regularly (I’m sure there were a few hiccups along the way). It was engrossing and exciting, and the finale made me cry. Then, it ended, and I just forgot about it like a kid leaving Derry.

If you had asked me before writing this article, I would have said the show likely got cancelled, but under the guise of a “we only ever wanted to do one season” announcement. That may seem rare for Apple TV+, a streaming service that will often have several seasons of a show produced before you find out about it, but I would have given that answer confidently, which is silly, because I wrote a whole article about how it had been picked up for a second season. But, in my defense, I wrote that article a year and a half ago. Also of note, the article mentions that there were supposed to be spinoff shows, which have not materialized.

Instead, I’ve been greeted with a video of Kurt Russell’s smiling face (not complaining). Apple TV+ dropped a video announcing the return of Russell’s character, Lee Shaw, to the show. The extent of his return is uncertain, as he was last seen falling out of a ship and into the hollow Earth in a way that looked… final, but that doesn’t mean he can’t be in some kind of flashback, especially given the time-jumping nature of the first season.

What cracks me up the most is that the video is titled, “The mission isn’t over. Everything changes tomorrow.” The latter half of the title is clearly a tease for a trailer or some kind of announcement, and the first half sounds like them saying, “the show is coming back, we promise!” Plenty of streaming services have gaps between seasons of their shows that are far too long, so Apple TV+ is not unique here, but good lord, it may end up being three years between seasons one and two of this show. That’s a long time!

Unless, of course, a trailer drops announcing a news season and a release date that makes it in under the wire. They have until November 2026 to get things started and avoid a three-year hiatus.