New Monarch: Legacy of Monsters Expansion Starring Wyatt Russell Coming to Apple TV
Share the Force:
Phil Roberts 
Joby Harold seals a deal with Legendary to expand the Monarch: Legacy of Monsters MonsterVerse on Apple TV, starting with Young Lee Shaw Series Starring Wyatt Russell.
Look out, MonsterVerse fans, because the Monarch: Legacy of Monsters universe is expanding on Apple TV. With Monarch Season 2 arriving on the streamer in February, Apple has moved quickly to offer Joby Harold a deal to expand and oversee the Monsterverse on the small screen. His first act is to greenlight a new show starring Wyatt Russell, who will reprise his role as Colonel Lee Shaw in a prequel series about his younger self. Harold will serve as showrunner on the new series.
The currently untitled Young Lee Shaw series is rumored to be the first of many the streamer plans to produce. Russell is also attached to the series as an executive producer. But what can we expect from the series? A fresh adventure set in the Cold War, with Lee Shaw preventing the Soviet Union from unleashing a new titan, perhaps? If this sounds epic to you, you’re in for a treat, because the series sounds phenomenal. Read the synopsis per Variety below.
SYNOPSIS
“The spinoff series will follow the story of Colonel Lee Shaw, an American operative who in 1984 went on a secret mission behind enemy lines in an attempt to stop the Soviets from unleashing a horrific new Titan big enough to destroy the U.S. and turn the tide of the Cold War.”
THE MONSTERVERSE EXPANDS
If this news isn’t enough to make you grab your Godzilla and Kong action figures, there’s even more exciting news. Harold has secured an overall deal with Legendary, under which he will manage the company’s entire “MonsterVerse” franchise on Apple TV, including both new and beloved Titans.
“I could not feel more privileged to be a part of building out this wildly iconic universe,” Harold said. “Apple and Legendary have been exemplary partners throughout this process, and we will continue to bring these Titans of cinematic history to audiences with the reverence they deserve.”
LEGENDARY & TOHO
The Young Lee Shaw prequel is set to be executive produced by Harold and Tory Tunnell for Safehouse Pictures, along with Russell, Chris Black, Kyle Bradstreet, Alex Boden, Max Borenstein, and Andy Goddard. The producers include Kei Banno, Brian Rogers, and Kenji Okuhira. Hiro Matsuoka and Takemasa Arita serve as executive producers for Toho Co., Ltd., the holder of the Godzilla franchise. Legendary has secured licensing rights for “Monarch: Legacy of Monsters” as part of its ongoing partnership with Toho over the film series.
“Viewers around the world haven’t been able to get enough of ‘Monarch: Legacy of Monsters’ since its global debut, and we cannot wait to unleash the electrifying new stories that Joby and the entire cast and creative team have been working on,” Morgan Wandell, head of international development for Apple TV, said in a statement. “With Joby at the helm, and alongside our terrific partners at Legendary, this new spinoff will kick off an epic Monsterverse expansion that brings audiences even closer to their favorite Titans along with fantastic character-driven storytelling.”
RELEASE
Sadly, as of press time, neither Apple nor Legendary has committed to a release timeline for the Young Lee Shaw Series. However, the streamer has proven itself more than capable of delivering a MonsterVerse series in a reasonable time after both seasons of Monarch: Legacy of Monsters, so it is safe to assume the series will take over our screens sooner rather than later. Either way, this is phenomenal news. Wyatt Russell, alongside his father, Kurt, helped make Monarch the global success it has become, and I look forward to exploring more adventures with this character.
Whether or not Godzilla or Kong will make an appearance remains to be seen. But with Joby Harold in the driving seat, Wyatt Russell personally overseeing production, and Toho ensuring the show maintains the quality of the source material, the MonsterVerse expansion is in the right hands, and long may the adventures continue.
Monsters reign, and in this universe, Kong is King!
Meet Phil Roberts! He’s the dedicated owner, daily content manager, and editor-in-chief of The Future of the Force. Phil is a budding novelist who turned his passion toward writing about the franchises he loves back in 2016. He’s a huge fan of all things Star Wars, Batman, DC, Marvel, Star Trek, Indiana Jones, Ghostbusters, King Kong, and the Ray Harryhausen movies. Phil is a BFI-accredited journalist and a distinguished member of the Film Critics Association UK.
If he’s not catching a movie at the cinema, you can bet he’s streaming something just as awesome!
