When you go up against some massive underground, extradimensional titans and a shady tech company, you need a robust team. Season one of Apple TV+’s Monsterverse series, Monarch: Legacy of Monsters, had the likes of Kurt Russell (and Wyatt Russell), Emmy winner Anna Sawai, Kiersey Clemons, and Ren Watabe. Pretty good team if you can get ’em. But with both Godzilla and Kong out there, not to mention Apex Technologies, a bigger cast is all but guaranteed. According to Variety, the upcoming second season of the series will bring in Prey star Amber Midthunder.
Midthunder will play Isabel, described as “an intelligent and powerful businesswoman.” Variety also describes her role as “heavily recurring,” which to me (with zero idea other than the word “businesswoman”) means she’ll be on the baddies’ side. But I could be wrong!
In addition to Prey, in which Midthunder played the lead character Naru taking on an 1800s version of the Predator, she had roles in FX’s Legion and Netflix’s Avatar: The Last Airbender.
Apple officially greenlit a second season in April of 2024, a few months after the first season’s finale. Additionally, Apple and Legendary struck a multi-series deal with that includes multiple spinoff series based on the franchise.
Morgan Wandell, head of international development for Apple TV+ said in a release at the time:
Monarch: Legacy of Monsters has left an indelible imprint on the hearts, minds and imaginations of audiences around the world, led by the brilliance of Chris, Matt, Kurt, Wyatt and the incredibly gifted talented cast and creative team. We couldn’t be more excited for viewers to not only have the chance to experience even more thrills in season two, but to embark on epic, new journeys in the franchise, as we expand Legendary’s Monsterverse.
As of November 2024, the series has begun production on season two. The official Apple TV Twitter account shared the following intriguing image.
We see the discarded dimension-hopping sphere our heroes used to enter Axis Mundi. Ominously, we also see two Apex Technologies vehicles next to it. And of course we have the even more ominous Skull Island jungle behind them. No characters and it conveys all the mood you need.
Monarch: Legacy of Monsters season two is executive produced by Chris Black, Matt Fraction, Joby Harold and Tory Tunnell from Safehouse Pictures, Matt Shakman, Andrew Colville, and Jen Roskind. Hiro Matsuoka and Takemasa Arita executive produce on behalf of Toho Co., Ltd., the owner of the Godzilla character.
We’ll let you know more casting and news about Monarch: Legacy of Monsters season two as it develops!
Originally published October 8, 2024.
Editor’s Note: Nerdist is a subsidiary of Legendary Digital Networks
Kyle Anderson is the Senior Editor for Nerdist. He hosts the weekly pop culture deep-dive podcast Laser Focus. You can find his film and TV reviews here. Follow him on Instagram and Letterboxd.
