Apple released its first look at how it’s planning to bring Godzilla from the big screen to your living room, with the trailer for Monarch: Legacy of Monsters. The show has now arrived on the streaming platform. You can watch Monarch: Legacy of Monsters right now.
Starting November, the series is part of Legendary’s Monsterverse and a sequel to 2014’s Godzilla. It takes place in the aftermath of the battle between Godzilla and the Titans in a now-ruined San Francisco, but the series will actually unfold over three generations, with army officer Lee Shaw played by both Kurt Russell and his son Wyatt, depending on the era.
“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,” Apple explains in a synopsis accompanying the video.
“The dramatic saga — spanning three generations — reveals buried secrets and the ways that epic, earth-shattering events can reverberate through our lives.”
The trailer doesn’t give any of these buried secrets away, of course, but we do get to see John Goodman reprising his role of Bill Randa from Kong: Skull Island and flashes of the giant monsters that we can’t wait to see doing battle.
The trailer does a good job of reassuring audiences that this will be exactly the kind of big, destructive spectacle you’ve come to expect from the Monsterverse franchise on the big screen — just streamed to your home on an episodic basis.
What the trailer fails to mention is support for spatial video — the immersive 3D format made possible by Apple’s upcoming Vision Pro headset.
Last month, ScreenTimes editor Sigmund Judge said production insiders had revealed that the show was being recorded in this format, and it would certainly be the kind of dramatic spectacle that could shine for early adopters of the $3,500 headset.
That said, you wouldn’t necessarily expect a teaser trailer to confirm this. In fact, doing so could actively damage the show, given it’s set to arrive before Apple Vision Pro. To stand the best chance of getting renewed for additional seasons, streaming series need strong viewing figures from day one — why would Apple tell viewers that they’re better off waiting?
The 10-part series launched on Friday, November 17 with two episodes to get you started, before it switches to a one-per-week schedule until January 12. While you wait, here are the best Apple TV shows you can watch right now.
