One of the most interesting decisions regarding the upcoming Godzilla-related “Monarch: Legacy of Monsters” TV series for the Apple TV+ service is the casting of real-life father-and-son Kurt Russell and Wyatt Russell.
The series unfolds within the continuity of Legendary’s MonsterVerse franchise (ie. “Godzilla vs. Kong”) and after the events of 2014’s “Godzilla”. The action follows two siblings following in their missing father’s footsteps to uncover their family’s connection to the secretive organization known as Monarch.
Key to all this is Lee Shaw, an army officer played by Kurt Russell in the scenes set in the modern day. Wyatt Russell will appear in flashbacks as the young version of the Lee character. Said character was part of a Monarch team trying to learn the origins of the Titans back in the 1950s.
The show’s director and executive producer Matt Shakman has now spoken with Collider about the casting and how it fit perfectly within the show:
“Certainly, we discussed two different actors. I think that’s the usual approach to things. But we had this idea that Kurt Russell and Wyatt Russell, who are often, I think, offered things as father and son, but I don’t think they’d ever been offered the same part to play in two different time periods… It just felt like an idea that we had to run wholeheartedly at, and they were excited to do it.
The idea of Kurt Russell plus Godzilla just feels absolutely, 100% right. He occupies the same awesome space. Then the fact that Wyatt could work so beautifully as the young version of that same character, it just was serendipity, you know, things that we couldn’t have planned that the fates made possible for us.”
The new series is expected to offer a more character-driven approach to the Monsterverse than we’ve seen thus far along with doing a bunch of world-building in the process.
However, only one character from the films is confirmed to be returning at this time – namely John Goodman’s Bill Randa from “Kong: Skull Island” will have a brief appearance.
Christopher Heyerdahl, Mari Yamamoto, Qyoko Kudo, Shota Tsuji, Josh Collins, Charlie Hewson, Joe Tippett, and Kiersey Clemons co-star in the series which is set to premiere on Apple TV+ on November 17th.