Monarch: Legacy of Monsters is mere hours away and the highly anticipated Apple TV+ just set a new record for the MonsterVerse on Rotten Tomatoes. The franchise, which has a large number of very passionate fans, has often faced something of a hard time from critics but bringing these massive monsters to the small screen seems to have paid off.
On the review aggregator, the TV series has a score of 92% based on 36 reviews. As a result, it's become the fourth of six MonsterVerse releases to receive all-important "Certified Fresh" status; Godzilla: King of the Monsters and Netflix's animated Skull Island both missed out. However, the latter would have been given that stamp of approval had more reviews been counted.
Still, with a whole 10% more than Skull Island, Monarch: Legacy of Monsters is now this franchise's best-reviewed title!
"With performances by father-son duo Kurt and Wyatt Russell that work a charm," reads the Critics Consensus, "Monarch adds a welcome wrinkle to the Godzilla legacy by honing its monstrous scope to a very human level."
Here's how each MonsterVerse movie and TV show compares on the site:
- Godzilla (2014) - 76%
- Kong: Skull Island (2015) - 75%
- Godzilla: King of the Monsters (2019) - 42%
- Godzilla vs. Kong (2021) - 76%
- Skull Island Season 1 (2023) - 82%
- Monarch: Legacy of Monsters Season 1 (2023) - 92%
This is an impressive achievement, particularly as many fans questioned how wise it was to bring the MonsterVerse to streaming. We don't know whether multiple seasons are planned - and how feasible that is given the expense of a relatively CG-heavy series - but it so far has all the makings of a hit.
"Following the thunderous battle between Godzilla and the Titans that leveled San Francisco, and the shocking revelation that monsters are real," reads the synopsis, "'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, taking place in the 1950s and half a century later where Monarch is threatened by what Shaw knows."
Based on the Monsterverse from Legendary, and starring Kurt Russell, Wyatt Russell, Anna Sawai, Kiersey Clemons, Ren Watabe, Mari Yamamoto, Anders Holm, Joe Tippett and Elisa Lasowski, this dramatic saga - spanning three generations - reveals buried secrets and the ways that epic, earth-shattering events can reverberate through our lives.
Developed by Chris Black (Severance) and Matt Fraction (Hawkeye), the first two episodes were helmed by WandaVision and Fantastic Four director Matt Shakman.
Monarch: Legacy of Monsters premieres November 17 on Apple TV+.