Subscribe
Follow Us
Godzilla is a big screen monster. But Monarch: Legacy of Monsters wants to change that.
After five feature films that have grossed nearly $2 billion worldwide, Godzilla and the MonsterVerse will make their way onto Apple TV+ soon. While there was an animated Skull Island series, Monarch is the first live-action series in the franchise.
The series picks up right after Gareth Edwards' 2014 Godzilla film and the aftermath of it. The Monarch organization begins uncovering new Titans in the series.
Matt Fraction and Chris Black created the series and are the co-showrunners. Tory Tunnell runs Safehouse Pictures and co-founded the company in 2005 with Joby Harold. Throughout their run, Tunnell and Safehouse Pictures have produced the likes of King Arthur: Legend of the Sword and Robin Hood. Monarch is their first venture into the MonsterVerse.
Speaking to ClutchPoints, Tunnell revealed that her and her company were “just so excited” about the prospect of joining the MonsterVerse. She also discussed bringing the “character-driven” story to the small screen, the Kurt Russell-Wyatt Russell father-son duo, and what's next.
Tory Tunnel-Monarch: Legacy of Monsters interview
ClutchPoints: What was the thing that drew you to this franchise?
Tory Tunnell: I think that, you know, we were just so excited. Matt Fraction had already been working on the project. And we just love the fact that he chose Monarch as a way in to support the feature films that have already been out there.
There was so little that we knew about Monarch at this time. And we all just wanted to build this character-driven way into a world that we've known for big scope and exciting monsters and deliver on those monsters, but also give us a really juicy character drama to bring us through 10 episodes.
CP: And I know the series hasn't even premiered yet, but this is the first live-action series in the MonsterVerse, correct?
TT: It is.
CP: So are there other avenues you want to explore beyond just Monarch, or do you want to do more seasons of this show?
TT: I mean, I always have personal ambitions [smiles], but it's going to be up to the audiences tuning in and we'll see what Apple wants to do with it. But I think that we all feel really excited about this season of television.
CP: Did it feel difficult at all to kind of bring those the big scale movies onto the small screen?
TT: I think that we have the advantage of having Sean Konrad, who's our VFX supervisor. He had worked on [the] 2014 Godzilla, and he really understood the character and was able to bring us a really grounded monster into our TV world, which I think is really surprising and exciting.
But I think we always talk about complementing our character-driven world with these monsters, and we talk about the fact that one of the themes of our show is the monster in your world might be 3,000 feet tall, or it might be the person sitting next to you.
CP: It seems like Sean is the connective tissue between the films and Monarch. Did it feel like that?
TT: Well, I think that he brought that expertise, and he was also was able to know when we're all wondering [things like] how many dorsal fins does Godzilla have?
You have a resident expert [smiles], and so he was always someone that we could really look to to make sure that we were honoring the Toho legacy and canon, but also pushing forward to have our world be something that is unique to our show.
CP: How many fins does Godzilla have? Did you ever get that number?
TT: [smiles] You'll have to ask Sean.
CP: One of the big selling points in this series also is the fact that you have the [Kurt and Wyatt] Russell father-son duo. And I know that they had done a movie years ago, but now Wyatt, especially, is so much older. What was that like to cast them together?
TT: We love the Russells. They're incredible. And it was something where they've been looking to work together.
They've been offered so many father and son roles. And I think what was really exciting to them was to play the same role. And it was fun to see them.
Kurt talks about the fact that he had to sort of pull back and lean into who Wyatt is and Wyatt [said] the same where he sort of has to sort of charge himself up and be a little bit more Kurt Russell. And I think they had a blast doing it. They really just felt like it was such an exciting, dynamic thing for them to work on their own time. And they really built a character together, which I think you can really feel on screen.
When we were talking about Kurt Russell, our amazing casting director, Ronna Kress said, “What about Wyatt to play the younger Lee Shaw (Kurt Russell)?” And it just felt like, “Well, obviously we have to do that. That's so exciting.”
And so it was a dream when they said that they were interested, and the guys have brought so much — they're so passionate about the show and they brought so much to the table.
It has been just such an incredible pleasure working with them.
Monarch: Legacy of Monsters will premiere on November 17 on Apple TV+.
