We’ve been waiting a good long while to hear more about the sophomore season of Monarch: Legacy of Monsters, Apple TV and Legendary’s excellent spinoff of the “Monsterverse” Godzilla films, after season one wrapped up in early 2024. Well, good things come to those who wait, including multiple members of the Russell family acting dynasty and some very sizeable simians.
This morning Apple TV dropped a new trailer to confirm that Monarch will return to the streamer early next year on February 27. Picking up where the first season left off, the show will continue to flash back and forth across the life of Lee Shaw (played as a young Army officer in the 1950s by Wyatt Russell and in the modern day by his father Kurt), as he helps two siblings discover their own family’s connection to the mysterious titular organization as it attempts to research and counter the rise of titanic threats.
Season one ended on a bit of a cliffhanger, with the elder Shaw’s fate in doubt, but Apple did confirm that Kurt Russell will be back for more in season two, alongside other returning stars Anna Sawai, Kiersey Clemons, Ren Watabe, Mari Yamamoto, Joe Tippett, and Anders Holm. But beyond familiar human faces, there’ll be familiar monsters too: as well as a cavalcade of freaky-looking new creatures, the new trailer also confirmed that season two will bring our heroes to Skull Island, the home of King Kong—and that, of course, Kong will be making the island’s new guests feel right at home in his own manner.
It’s no surprise that Monarch season two will incorporate Kong, just as Godzilla himself served as an overarching presence across season one. Kong has become more and more integral to the Monsterverse movies since Godzilla vs. Kong and The New Empire, and with Supernova on the way in 2027, it’s no surprise that we might start seeing the groundwork for that movie teased in Kong’s appearances here.
We’ll start seeing if Monarch season two can live up to the great promise of its predecessor when it premieres on Apple TV February 27, 2026, rolling out the remainder of the 10-episode season on a weekly basis after that.
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