Apple TV’s Godzilla show is the incredible missing link of the Monsterverse

13.10.2023 - 16:17 / polygon.com

In the span of just four films (along with a few graphic novels and an underrated Netflix cartoon about King Kong), the “Monsterverse” has evolved quite a bit. What began as a pseudo-Spielbergian attempt at finally making a competent American Godzilla film quickly morphed into a more studio-driven extended universe. As such, the 2014 Godzilla stands in stark contrast against all that came after it; its atmospheric restraint was quickly replaced by a “dumping all the action figures out of the toy box” approach in later sequels.

Of course, this is the nature of most sequels in many genres, but it means that there’s little thematic connective tissue between the mood of Godzilla and Godzilla: King of the Monsters or Godzilla vs. Kong. The sequels obviously imply a familiarity with the monsters involved, so comfortable as they are with mining Godzilla’s Japanese mythology for its classic foes. But we never really see that in the universe of the films — how does a world become accustomed to multiple giant monsters roaming around all of a sudden? Luckily, the upcoming Apple TV Plus series, Monarch: Legacy of Monsters, is here to answer that question.

Or at least, you know, make it clear that we’re not all suddenly cool with joining Team Godzilla just because he happened to beat the hell out of some other monsters that one time.

It’s in the aftermath of this San Francisco brawl in the 2014 film that we find survivor Cate Randa (Anna Sawai), a woman about to be swept up in Legacy of Monsters’ globe-trotting (and time-hopping) adventure. It’s one that puts focus on the humans that are forced to grasp for understanding in the wake of (what seems like) a monster apocalypse. And there’s a lot to learn: Through multiple generations of the secretive government organization Monarch and the families left in the dark by its shady activities, we watch a world discover kaiju and then, eventually, attempt to survive them. The food chain has been upended, andLegacy of Monsters is all about this new step into a post-human hierarchy.

Of course, Monsterverse devotees know that this is an area that the films haven’t really done much with. Aside from a handful of actors being allowed to chew scenery, like Bryan Cranston in the 2014 film or Brian Tyree Henry in Godzilla vs. Kong, humans have never really been the selling point for the Monsterverse. They’re mostly there to explain things, commentate on the action like it’s WrestleMania, or run. Even Ken Watanabe’s Dr. Serizawa, named after the most famous human character in the Japanese original, does little more than serve as a stoic kaiju whisperer.

Here, though, we get actual character intrigue and development — the best of this comes from the trio of Sawai’s Cate, Ren