Monarch: Legacy of Monsters Season 1 introduced Axis Mundi to the Monsterverse mythos. Axis Mundi was a different plane of existence, equivalent to an alternate reality—one whose concept of time differed wildly and was used by Titans to travel. Some were confused after that reveal, however, since Godzilla vs. Kong introduced Hollow Earth. This was another unique place that Titans moved around in, but this time under the crust of the Earth.
The Direct's Russ Milheim sat down with Monarch: Legacy of Monsters' Season 2's executive producer, Tory Tunnell, who helped clarify what exactly Axis Mundi is compared to Hollow Earth.
Tunnell explained that they "talk about Axis Mundi as almost being a cul-de-sac," and "Hollow Earth being its own, truly in Hollow Earth."She further explained that "Axis Mundi has its own rules," which include "time dilation and the idea that it has access to the other monsters." According to the producer, Axis Mundi "is its own zip code" compared to Hollow Earth from the films.
"There are more mysteries within our own world than we know about," which is something they're "continuing to mine" in the same way that there are things in the real world that we still haven't discovered, such as the unknowns in the oceans and distant galaxies.
At the end of the day, their biggest challenge with their mysteries is "What more can we mine and then stay within canon, but keep people excited and showing the depth of the world?"
Monarch Legacy of Monsters Season 2, which further connects the show to Kong: Skull Island, premieres on Apple TV+ on February 27, 2026.
Axis Mundi's Relation to Hollow Earth Explained
"They Are, in Some Ways—It's Almost Like Different Layers."
- The Direct: "I just had a lore question I wanted to clear up. And a lot of fans have wondered, because you guys introduced Axis Mundi, how it relates to Hollow Earth. Are those two things anywhere close to the same thing, and where do they exist in relation to one another?"
Tory Tunnell: They are, in some ways—It's almost like different layers. We talk about Axis Mundi as almost being a cul-de-sac, and Hollow Earth being, its own, truly in Hollow Earth. And Axis Mundi has its own rules. We obviously play with time dilation and the idea that it has access to these other monsters, but it is its own zip code, if you will.
But it is something where there are more mysteries within our own world than we know about, and that's something that we're continuing to mine in the same way that we're, you know, we're constantly told in the real world that there are things in the sea that we still haven't discovered, or, you know, what else is out there in the galaxies far away.
And so I think that we're always sort of playing with, what more can we do? What more can we mine and then stay within canon, but keep people excited and showing the depth of our world.
Balancing Godzilla and Kong, and Dealing With How They Can't Meet Onscreen
"Whenever You Have Rules, It Always Inspires Creativity."
- The Direct: "Godzilla is confirmed to be returning for Season 2. However, he is not the centerpiece and focus like he was in Season 1. In fact, it kind of takes him a second to show his face. Can you talk about the discussions that kind of went into how much time you were going to give him in this new season, and also how you wanted to balance the spotlight on both Kong and Godzilla without taking it away from either?"
Tory Tunnell: Absolutely. We are always so excited to showcase our hero Titans, especially fan favorites, like Godzilla and Kong, especially us, the creators of it. It's such a joy to be able to work with them. They always show up on time. You know, they're very good on set.
But we also thought it'd be really fun in this season to introduce a new Titan that really allowed us to be able to do a 360 on the thematics that we wanted to have a conversation about in Season 2. And so we have our hero Titans, but we're also doing something that we hope will really excite audiences and surprise them and add to the canon.
- The Direct: "You have Kong, you have Godzilla in the same season, but they can't meet. So how challenging was that temptation of being like, oh, we can't put them in the same scene?"
Tory Tunnell: I think that whenever you have rules, it always inspires creativity. And how do you navigate that? Because Kong is on Skull Island, and in the movies, he can move off of that, but in the world that we're living in, he does not. And I think that for us is a great creative challenge, in a way that it makes you think about, what else can we do? How can we keep people guessing?
And we also don't want to exhaust these incredible Titans. We want people wanting more, rather than feeling like they're saturated with it. So we feel really excited about our contribution there. And we had this moment on Season 1, where our show came out very close to 'Godzilla Minus One,' which is incredible, as was the Adam Wingard movie, which was sensational. And I think that people really, they—more is more is more.
And so we're always wanting to make sure that we're satiating without running it into the ground. And that's where it's always about being very thoughtful about when we have these titans engage and deliver what we hope fans are looking for, but also give new monsters and other monsters. Because it's not just Titan X. We have other monsters that will appear, and we'll keep quiet on those, but we keep people on their toes.
The full interview, alongside our conversation with Monarch: Legacy of Monsters stars Anders Holm (Bill Randa) and Mari Yamamoto (Keiko), can be viewed below:
