‘Monarch’ S2 Stars Reveal Whether Their Characters Trust Monarch

Currently striding into Season 2, Apple TV+’s Monarch: Legacy of Monsters continues the MonsterVerse story that started in director Gareth Edwards’ 2014 Godzilla movie. Starring Anna Sawai, Kiersey Clemons, Ren Watabe, Wyatt Russell, and Kurt Russell, the show centers on Monarch, an organization tasked with tracking, studying, and understanding Titans — giant monsters that inhabit Earth, such as Godzilla and Kong. However, after being founded by Keiko Muira (Mari Yamamoto), Bill Randa (Anders Holm), and Lee Shaw (Kurt and Wyatt Russell), the company has endured bureaucratic problems and a fundamental loss of its idealistic vision, causing major issues for the monsters and those trying to protect them.

As Season 2 starts, the world is in chaos as new Titans and monsters come through the veil while others emerge from hiding on Earth for the first time in years. This leads Monarch to increase its activity beyond what was depicted in Season 1, which in turn leaves the show’s main characters in flux regarding their feelings toward the supposed monster experts.

Speaking exclusively with MovieWeb, stars Anna Sawai (Kate) and Joe Tippett (Tim) discussed how some of the show’s main characters feel about Monarch ahead of Monarch: Legacy of Monsters Season 2. In Sawai’s mind, Kate is off that train, aligning herself more closely with Keiko Miura and wanting to follow somebody she believes is a true expert on the subject:

Anna Sawai: I don’t think Kate does. I think Kate’s just with Keiko. As you said, like Keiko, they believe in Keiko. I think, at least, her choices align with Keiko, and so they team up.

As for Tippett, he feels that while the core characters disagree with the company’s recent decisions, they haven’t lost sight of its original goals. They still want to believe in what Monarch is supposed to be, and are holding out hope that it’s possible for the company to return to its roots:

Joe Tippett: Not this version, but the discovery and defense or whatever, the old mission. I think they still reach for it, believe in it, and think it’s possible.

Apple TV+

This season will find the Monarch team facing its most serious challenges in a long time, as the creatures they follow get bigger and scarier than anything they’ve ever seen. At the end of the first episode of Season 2, fans caught their first glimpse of a new Titan with a massive reptilian snout and massive tentacles around its body, which allow it to move almost seamlessly on land and in the sea. Officially dubbed Titan X, this creature made its way from Axis Mundi to the main universe through the portal that brought Lee Shaw back, putting the people of Earth in even greater danger.

This comes alongside the reemergence of Kong, who is being established differently than he has in any other Kong-centric property. Instead of a mindless beast with only destructive tendencies, he seems to be leaving humans alone unless they bother him or get in his way — although he’s already proven to be just as powerful and dangerous as ever when provoked.

As the season continues, other major monsters are sure to appear, although Titan X and Kong on their own have already given the show’s human heroes more than enough to handle.

Monarch: Legacy of Monsters Season 2 brings new episodes to Apple TV+ at 3 a.m. ET every Friday.