Last year, Monarch: Legacy of Monsters introduced audiences to a much younger version of Bill Randa, who was a key character in the Monsterverse entry Kong: Skull Island, originally played by John Goodman. The show's Bill was brought to life by Anders Holm, and he presented an entirely different Randa. This scientist was filled with hope and optimism, though both iterations shared an intense desire to discover the unknown.
Obviously, there are tons of events that must have happened between those two projects for the younger Bill Randa to grow into that very jaded older version, one who seemed to want to eradicate Titans entirely. Thankfully, Season 2 of the Apple TV series will further connect the dots and help fill in those blanks regarding Bill's evolution—something that shouldn't be a surprise given Season 1's big Kong cliffhanger.
The Direct's Russ Milheim sat down with Monarch: Legacy of Monsters star Anders Holm, where the star teased how Season 2 of his series will further bridge the gaps between the show and Kong: Skull Island.
Holm first explained that Season 2 is "almost like a new prequel that helps serve the modern-day story" that sees Bill Rando "still on the hunt" and "looking for the unknown."
Though this time around, audiences are going to see Bill's passions "get in the way of [his] relationships and [his] personal life starts to kind of unravel." The slow unraveling of his life is all due to his "insatiable appetite for the unknown," which "gets [Bill] to where you meet [him] in Kong: Skull Island."
Alongside Anders Holm, The Direct was also about to speak to Monarch star Mari Yamamoto, who plays Keiko, about how her character is coping with her new reality. The full interview can be read and viewed below.
Monarch: Legacy of Monsters Season 2 premieres its first episode on February 27, 2026.
How Season 2 Connects Bill Randa to Who We Know In Kong: Skull Island
Bill's "Insatiable Appetite for the Unknown" Is Causing Him to Lose Things.
- The Direct: "The Bill Randa that audiences met in Kong: Skull Island, in many ways, feels like a different man. In fact, I just watched it last night, and he feels kind of jaded and almost wants to kind of get rid of Titans. So, can you tease how Season 2 will take Bill further from this show and connect him to the movie and kind of bridge the gap of that journey and his evolution?"
Anders Holm: In Season 1, you meet me, and I'm eager, and I want answers, and I'm a truth seeker, and we uncover so much, you know? And then Season 2, it's not that we pick up where we left off, but it's almost like a new prequel that helps serve the modern-day story in Season 2. And I'm still on the hunt, looking for the unknown, right?
But my passions get in the way of my relationships and my personal life starts to kind of unravel due to my, I don't know if you'd call it a flaw, but my insatiable appetite for the unknown and I find myself losing things, even though I'm just trying to gain these other things, and I'm less fulfilled, and I'm not winning at life, and I'm losing everything that makes me me, and I think that that gets me to where you meet my character in 'Kong: Skull Island.' He's a little bit more on the B side of this emotional spiral.
Mari Yamamoto on Keiko Getting Lost In the Dangerous What Ifs
"You Literally See the Version of the Life That She Could Have Had..."
- The Direct: "Mari, the question of what if is a recurring theme for the show, which I think Keiko deals with the most out of all the characters. Can you talk about how that rabbit hole of thinking about all the things that could have been kind of affects her journey through this season and her ability to adapt to this new timeline and the new family that surrounds her?"
Mari Yamamoto: Yeah, because you literally see the version of the life that she could have had, I guess, in moments. So what's a person to do with that, right? But like, you can only live the life you're given. So I think she is, you know, Season 2 in modern day is only 10 days, so she hasn't even begun to process all that she's been through.
So, I think there's a lot of therapy happening post-Season 2. But in the moment of it, she's just trying to keep up. And at the core of it, who she is, like, she wants to be useful, and she's so optimistic, so she's trying to get back to that, despite the grief and despite the what ifs, all she can do is move forward, and that's how she's lived her life, and that's why she is who she is.
The full interview can be viewed below, alongside our conversation with Monarch: Legacy of Monsters executive producer Tory Tunnell:
