If Chris Black and Matt Fraction’s new series is any indication, the screen may be small — or smaller — but there’s still enough space for the MonsterVerse’s scope and the kaiju subgenre’s sociological notes to hang out.
For ten episodes, Monarch: Legacy of Monsters hopes to be just that by following siblings Cate and Kentaro (Anna Sawai and Ren Watabe), uncovering a major family secret. The duo’s grandfather is Bill Randa (John Goodman), otherwise known as the operative of the mysterious organization that wanted to capture Kong on Skull Island in 1973. And the more they uncover, the closer they get to Army officer Lee Shaw (Kurt Russell in the present-day storyline, his son Wyatt in the ‘50s one)…
Monarch’s other prominent appearance is in the scientific duo Ishirō Serizawa and Vivienne Graham (Ken Watanabe and Sally Hawkins) in the two feature-length Godzilla films, the one in 2014 and its sequel King of the Monsters in 2019.
Monarch: Legacy of Monsters, with its first two episodes directed by WandaVision’s Matt Shakman, is the first time the MonsterVerse assumes a serialized format and perhaps the most readily human-oriented in terms of narrative.
Vietcetera briefly checked in with Black and Fraction to see how the latter could make an impression on fans of one of cinema’s most iconic monsters (and where the characters here can be an improvement over those in the feature films).
Kaiju movies carry humanistic messages, touching on topics like anti-war, environmentalism, colonialism, and racism. What perspectives will we see in your show, especially regarding the human-driven organization Monarch?
Chris Black: I’d say resilience and perseverance, how we deal with trauma in our lives. You know, the first episode's title is “Aftermath” — it’s about how we handle what comes after a tragedy. It’s when you get knocked down, how do you get up and move on.
And I think, the Titans often deal with those larger global issues. Godzilla goes back to post-war Japan, and then into the ‘60s and ‘70s, and environmental issues — they often deal with those existential threats to civilization, the anxieties that we have communally. But I think for our show, we wanted to focus on this familys personal struggles and trauma.
Matt Fraction: I think there is ultimately a message of hope throughout — that people will come together and solve these problems, even when the problems are massive and inconceivable. Or on a very human scale, you know, Cate’s real harm comes from her father, not from Godzilla. It comes from a very intimate, personal kind of betrayal.
[According to Apple, schoolteacher Cate Randa stumbles across Monarch-related businesses while handling family matters. One of the early promotional images of the show, on Instagram, centers around Cate and features the caption: “In the wake of G-Day [or when Godzilla came to San Francisco], who are the real monsters?”]
But it’s also that we as a people are resilient. And especially coming out of a global pandemic, it feels like a time to tell a story about people getting up and dusting themselves off. About people figuring out how we can go on and how we can take care of each other.
You have control over more than just typical monster movie entertainment. How are you honoring the unique and well-known aspects of the kaiju genre and tokusatsu media in this project?
Matt Fraction: I think the key to their enduring legacy is that they are a mirror, a lens, a frame for us to view existential anxieties on an external or internal scale. And there’s always problems we must deal with and work out, stuff that’s hard to look at. The biggest connection that we can draw is that there is a great allegorical power to these characters, to this world, to Titans, and what they can represent.
[There are two popular schools of thought regarding analyzing Godzilla and its associated beasts. The first sees them as the result of humans committing atrocities and our horrible actions have released a worse element into existence. The second renders them as the response to harm from foreign agents, how local forces can generate equally destructive, or at times nuclear-powered, “quid pro quo” moves. However, both interpretations reach the same endpoint of more global unity and respect for life at large to end disasters.]
Chris Black: We’re honored that we had this great opportunity. We take the responsibility very seriously; we know these characters are enduring and beloved around the world and that people are hugely invested in these movies and their stories.
Conscious Beasts: Producers Of 'Monarch: Legacy Of Monsters' On The Heart Of The Epic Show
We do not take that lightly; we want to do the best version of our TV show. We want to tell a story that’s meaningful and personal for us. We’re very aware that we have been privileged to work with these characters who have a long history.
If Chris Black and Matt Fraction’s new series is any indication, the screen may be small — or smaller — but there’s still enough space for the MonsterVerse’s scope and the kaiju subgenre’s sociological notes to hang out.
We joke about how Toho and Legendary have said, “We’re going to let you play with our toys — Please don’t break them.”
Matt Fraction: We’re standing on the shoulders of the most giant of giants!
Monarch: Legacy of Monsters is not the only title related to Godzilla or kaiju this year: the feature-length and IMAX-ready Godzilla: Minus One, written and directed by Takashi Yamazaki, will be out in US theaters on December 1. Local Vietnamese theaters have yet to secure a release date.