The cast and filmmakers behind Apple TV+’s Monsterverse series Monarch: Legacy of Monsters, including recent Shogun star Anna Sawai, spoke to The Direct about what they are most proud of regarding Season 1.
Monarch was Godzilla’s and, by extension, the MonsterVerse’s first foray into television. While many were worried about its ability to maintain the same level of scope and visual quality as its blockbuster counterparts, the show proved it was up to the task.
Godzilla and several new Kaiju were very much from and center, but the show also focused on the human storyline in a way none of the other MonsterVerse projects had been able to.
[ Monarch: Legacy of Monsters: Cast, Characters, Actors ]
Cast of Monarch: Legacy of Monsters Are Proud of How Season 1 Turned Out
The cast and filmmakers of Monarch: Legacy of Monsters attended an FYC (For Your Consideration) event where they spoke with The Direct’s Russ Milheim about what they were most proud of in Season 1.
Anna Sawai, who played Cate Randa on the show, was proud of how they all "just became family" behind the scenes:
"I feel that we just became family. Like it's all behind the camera... We really love each other. We love spending time. And so, like, being renewed for Season 2 and being able to explore the characters, of course, but being able to spend time with these guys, I'm so excited about it. And so proud, too."
Joe Tippett, who plays the often grumpy Monarch agent Tim, thought it was impressive that they managed to make a Godzilla show about everyday people:
"I think making a Godzilla show that people liked and to like break the form a little bit. You know what I mean? I feel like it was a gamble to be like, do people give a shit about the people? And I think they do... In addition to all the monsters, I think we wrote a compelling story. I think that's pretty cool."
"I thought they did a good job of the monsters too," Tippett went on to say, noting how important it was to make sure they still looked up to par:
"I thought they did a good job of the monsters, too. I think that's like [Executive Producer] Tory Tunnell was adamant that if we're gonna put the monsters on TV, we still gotta put the work in and make them look good because otherwise, people won't buy it."
For showrunner Chris Black, he was pleased with "the cast of characters" and the talented "group of actors" behind them all:
"Well, the cast of characters. I mean, this group of actors was a gift to a writer, being able to write for this group of people. I couldn't have imagined having this talent and saying our words on the screen. I think the most satisfying thing for us was being able to tell the story of the Randa family, to follow Kate and Kataro on their journey, searching for their father, and going down this rabbit hole of discovering the mysteries of Monarch. I mean, that became sort of the north star of the show is following those characters."
Elisa Lasowski (Agent Duvall) exclaimed how she’s proud "to be a part of it" and that "it saw the light of day:"
"There are so many elements of this. I'm just proud, first of all, to be a part of it. I'm proud that it saw the light of day. And that people are responding and people are liking it. I mean, that's what we're doing it for, so that's something to be proud of."
For Monarch casting director Ronna Kress, she was "really proud of how the cast came together:"
"I'm really proud of how the cast came together. And obviously, the Kurt/Wyatt piece was huge for us. But Anna [Sawai], Ren [Watabe], Mari [Yamamoto], Kiersey [Clemons]. And just how everyone works so well together. It makes me really happy."
Monarch: Legacy of Monsters is now streaming on Apple TV+.
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