With a legacy that stretches 70 years and counting, plenty of filmmakers and other creatives have put their stamp on Godzilla. One of the most popular versions of the King of Monsters has come to life courtesy of Legendary Pictures — which has crafted a new series of kaiju films thatfans have dubbed the “MonsterVerse.“Most of these films center around a group of humans that have their lives upended by the Titans: ancient monsters that have been around since the dawn of time. Godzilla happens to be one of those monsters, as well as the most powerful. The other element that connects these films is the presence of Monarch: an organization dedicated to studying the Titans and their place in the world’s history.
Now the latest entry in the MonsterVerse,Monarch: Legacy of Monsters, promises to finally delve into the origins of Monarch — mainly via a mystery surrounding a characterplayed byKurt Russellin the past andWyatt Russellin the present. It also marks the fifth entry in the MonsterVerse (that is if you’re not counting the official graphic novels published by Legendary Comics that take place in between movies). With almost a decade of history under its belt, the MonsterVerse has managed to deliver stories that are just as big as the monsters that it’s conjured up on the big screen.Here’s a look at all the major MonsterVerse events that have taken place prior toMonarch.
Monarch: Legacy of Monsters
Set after the battle between Godzilla and the Titans, revealing that monsters are real, follows one family’s journey to uncover its buried secrets and a legacy linking them to Monarch.
Godzilla Fights to Keep His Title as King of the Monsters
The MonsterVerse came barreling out of the gate with 2014’sGodzillareboot. Right off the bat, Godzilla’s power is established — it turns out that the nuclear weapons tests at Bikini Atoll were meant to kill him, but instead, he grew stronger.The King of the Monsters reawakens to battle a pair of creatures called MUTOs (short for Massive Unidentified Terrestrial Organism) who are consuming nuclear material around the globe.He eventually manages to defeat them, earning the respect as well as the fear of the world’s population. Soon, other Titans rise to battle Godzilla inGodzilla: King of the Monsters, including the extraterrestrial dragon King Ghidorah — who is awoken by a group of eco-terrorists that argue the Titans are meant to cleanse the Earth of humanity. Once again, Godzilla winds up victorious as he kills Ghidorah with the help of his fellow titan Mothra while the other Titans submit to his rule.
Monarch plays a major role in both films, as the organization investigates the path of destruction the MUTOs and Godzilla wrought over the years.They also provide support to Godzilla during his battle against Ghidorah — especially Dr. Ishirō Serizawa (Ken Watanabe). Serizawa argues inKing of the Monstersthat Godzilla’s presence is healing the planet and that humanity should work alongside the Titans. He even sacrifices his life to activate a thermonuclear bomb that will empower Godzilla when the King of the Monsters is near death,leading to one of the most emotional moments in the MonsterVerse. Another Serizawa moment:the infamous “Let them fight” sentence in the firstGodzilla. It’s only fitting that an actor of Watanabe’s caliber gets some of the juiciest material in these films.
Skull Island Reveals Kong’s Connection to the Titans
But Godzilla isn’t Monarch’s first encounter with a Titan.In 1973, the organization launches an expedition to the mysterious Skull Island, where leader Bill Randa (John Goodman) has discovered a potential Titan sighting. That expedition turns deadly when Kong attacks Monarch’s helicopters, stranding the party on the island. Colonel Preston Packard (Samuel L. Jackson) and his fellow soldiers embark on a campaign of vengeance against Kong while the rest of the survivors deal with Skull Island’s native life — especially the ravenous Skullcrawlers. During this adventure, it was revealed that there is another survivor on Skull Island: pilot Hank Marlow (John C. Reilly), who had crash-landed on the island toward the end of World War II.
The MonsterVerse starts to show its grander plans duringKong: Skull Island, including connective tissue to theGodzillafilms it takes place in between.When Packard confronts Randa about Kong’s existence, Randa reveals that when he was younger, he barely survived an encounter with Godzilla — an encounter thatMonarch: Legacy of Monsterswill finally depict. Paintings on Skull Island’s cave also depict the history of Godzilla, Ghidorah, Mothra, and Rodan, whileKing of the Monsters' end credits reveal that a good deal of Titans are converging on Skull Island. The stage is set for a major confrontation between Godzilla and Kong — and eventually, that confrontation happens inGodzilla vs. Kong.
Godzilla and Kong Engage In a Clash of the Titans
Over the years, Godzilla and Kong continue to decimate all of their opponents until they are the only two Titans remaining.Godzilla launches a series of attacks on facilities belonging to Apex Cybernetics, leading Apex to try and use a captive Kong to battle the King of the Monsters. This eventually leads Kong into the Hollow Earth — the interior underneath the Earth’s crust. It is then revealed that Kong’s ancestors battled with Godzilla’s in a war that spanned centuries; Kong even finds a weapon that gave him the edge against Godzilla’s atomic might. Apex eventually reveals its ultimate weapon: a massive machine dubbed “Mechagodzilla” that is controlled by Ren Serizawa (Shun Oguri) and powered by one of King Ghidorah’s skulls. But Ghidorah’s spirit possesses Mechagodzilla and attempts to kill Godzilla until he and Kong join forces to defeat it.
While the film does have Kong suffering a massive defeat at Godzilla’s hands, the two Titans part ways as allies — and will join forces once again inGodzilla X Kong: The New Empire, which is slated to debut next year.Monarch: Legacy of Monsterswill continue to expand upon this history, and judging from early reception,it’s managed to finally achieve a balance between the monster mash-ups and the mysteries behind Monarch’s inception.
Monarch: Legacy of Monsterspremieres November 17 on Apple TV+.
Watch on Apple TV+
