Monarch: Legacy of Monsters director Matt Shakman has addressed a common complaint regarding the MonsterVerse’s human characters.
Speaking with DiscussingFilm, Shakman opened up about some fans’ criticism that the MonsterVerse’s human characters can oftentimes be unmemorable.
“I don’t share that opinion about the MonsterVerse movies,” Shakman said. “I mean, if you just think about Kong: Skull Island – Samuel L. Jackson, John Goodman, John C. Reilly, Brie Larson, Tom Hiddleston – there are incredible characters in that movie. And they’re very memorable and their stories are unique. One of the things that was most important for us was that when we were doing monster action, it was from the point of view of the humans, that we were telling the story from ground level. We were not flying high in the sky at Godzilla level, which is where I think a lot of the movies exist. We were more interested in ‘How is this monster event affecting the humans that we love and care about?’.”
What is Monarch: Legacy of Monsters about?
“Following the thunderous battle between Godzilla and the Titans that leveled San Francisco, and the shocking revelation that monsters are real, Monarch: Legacy of Monsters tracks two siblings following in their father’s footsteps to uncover their family’s connection to the secretive organization known as Monarch,” the official synopsis reads. “Clues lead them into the world of monsters and ultimately down the rabbit hole to Army Officer Lee Shaw (played by Kurt Russell and Wyatt Russell), taking place in the 1950s and half a century later where Monarch is threatened by what Shaw knows.”
The MonsterVerse began with Gareth Edwards’ Godzilla, which released in United States theaters in May 2014. It was followed by 2017’s Kong: Skull Island, 2019’s Godzilla: King of the Monsters, and 2021’s Godzilla vs. Kong.
Along with Monarch: Legacy of Monsters, the animated Skull Island television series that debuted on Netflix in June 2023 is also a part of the MonsterVerse. The next MonsterVerse movie, Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire, is scheduled to release in theaters on April 12, 2024.
The first four episodes of Monarch: Legacy of Monsters are currently streaming on AppleTV+.
