We’re thrilled a new season of Monarch: Legacy of Monsters is on the way. The first season of Apple TV’s Monsterverse thriller gave us a world full of kaiju and a mystery across the globe, and across two timelines. While we know what’s coming in the future—at least partially, thanks to Kong joining Godzilla for the next chapter—we often wonder about what else happened to Colonel Lee Shaw prior to our heroes finding him in his Kurt Russell form. You know, when he was still Wyatt Russell. Well, Legendary and Apple TV have an answer for you. Wyatt Russell with star in and executive produce a spinoff series with showrunner Joby Harold.
The news comes from Apple who announced the as-yet-untitled Lee Shaw series, which will expand Legendary’s Monsterverse saga. The adventure will see Shaw during the Cold War on a secret mission behind enemy lines in an attempt to stop the Soviets from unleashing a horrific new Titan big enough to destroy the U.S. Fun stuff! Clandestine monster hunting. Between Monarch and his work as U.S. Agent in the MCU, Russell is certainly no stranger to top secret government shenanigans.
The new prequel series is executive produced by Harold and Tory Tunnell for Safehouse Pictures, alongside Wyatt Russell, Chris Black, Kyle Bradstreet, Alex Boden, Max Borenstein, Andy Goddard, and produced by Kei Banno, Brian Rogers, and Kenji Okuhira. Hiro Matsuoka and Takemasa Arita executive produce on behalf of Toho Co., Ltd., the owner of the Godzilla character. Toho licensed the rights to Legendary for “Monarch: Legacy of Monsters” as a natural byproduct of their long-term relationship with the film franchise.
“Viewers around the world haven’t been able to get enough of Monarch: Legacy of Monsters since its global debut, and we cannot wait to unleash the electrifying new stories that Joby and the entire cast and creative team have been working on,” said Morgan Wandell, head of international development for Apple TV. “With Joby at the helm, and alongside our terrific partners at Legendary, this new spinoff will kick off an epic Monsterverse expansion that brings audiences even closer to their favorite Titans along with fantastic character-driven storytelling.”
“I could not feel more privileged to be a part of building out this wildly iconic universe,” says Harold. “Apple and Legendary have been exemplary partners throughout this process, and we will continue to bring these Titans of cinematic history to audiences with the reverence they deserve.”
“Joby is a remarkable storyteller with a deep understanding of what makes the Monsterverse resonate with fans globally,” said Jason Clodfelter, President and Managing Director at Legendary Television. “We’re thrilled to bring him and Safehouse Pictures into a broader partnership alongside Apple, marking an exciting new era for the franchise.”
We’re excited to see what happens with giant monsters and Cold War politics. But for now we’ll just have to watch Monarch: Legacy of Monsters season two, which premieres February 27, 2026.
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 Letterboxd.