Mixing Kurt Russell into the world of kaiju seems like a no-brainer for some, so showrunner and executive producer Matt Shakman felt it was a good combo for Monarch: Legacy of Monsters.
In the upcoming series, Kurt Russell will play army officer Lee Shaw in the scenes set in the modern day. His son, Wyatt Russell (The Falcon and the Winter Soldier), will appear in flashbacks, giving more depth to the character.
Shakman opened up to Collider about the casting and what it was like having father and son star in the new Godzilla-universe set series.
“Certainly, we discussed two different actors,” said Shakman. “I think that’s the usual approach to things. But we had this idea that Kurt Russell and Wyatt Russell, who are often, I think, offered things as father and son, but I don’t think they’d ever been offered the same part to play in two different periods. It just felt like an idea that we had to run wholeheartedly at, and they were excited to do it.”
“The idea of Kurt Russell plus Godzilla just feels absolutely, 100% right,” Shakman adds. “He occupies the same awesome space. Then the fact that Wyatt could work so beautifully as the young version of that same character, it just was serendipity, you know, things that we couldn’t have planned that the fates made possible for us.”
SEE ALSO: Godzilla Minus One trailer brings back the horror and dread to kaiju franchise
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.
Clues lead them into the world of monsters and ultimately down the rabbit hole to Army Officer Lee Shaw (played by Kurt Russell and Wyatt Russell), taking place in the 1950s and half a century later, where Monarch is threatened by what Shaw knows.
The dramatic saga — spanning three generations — reveals buried secrets and the ways that epic, earth-shattering events can reverberate through our lives.
Monarch: Legacy of Monsters is set to premiere on Apple TV+ on November 17th.
