Kurt Russell’s Godzilla Character Rejects Everything About Hollywood Legacy Heroes

Warning: Major spoilers for Monarch: Legacy of Monsters episodes 1-5 below!Monarch: Legacy of Monsters is subverting a classic legacy sequel issue with Kurt Russell’s Lee Shaw. Monarch is shedding some light on the organization’s past, including the key people behind its founding. A major player is Colonel Shaw, played by Wyatt Russell in flashbacks and his father Kurt in present day. While some movie fans may have wished to see Wyatt inherit his father’s most iconic characters like Escape from New York’s Snake Plissken, Legacy of Monster’s dual role is a far more interesting use of the Russells.

There’s still much about the character that reminds a mystery – including how Shaw should be around 90 years old but looks much younger. At least Monarch: Legacy of Monster’s episode 5 hinted this will be explained in a future outing, but with the titular monster-hunting group having taken Shaw into custody, he might be out of the story for the foreseeable future. Kurt Russell might be playing a supporting role, but he injects the series with a lot of energy and gravitas.

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Monarch: Legacy Of Monsters Cast & Character Guide

Apple TV’s Monarch: Legacy of Monsters adds to the mythos of the Monsterverse with an international cast of characters, humans and otherwise.

Kurt Russell’s Monsterverse Character Avoids A Common Legacy Hero Problem

One refreshing thing about Russell’s Shaw is that, unlike many other legacy sequel heroes, he’s immediately ready for action. Compared to say Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill) in The Last Jedi or Rocky (Sylvester Stallone) in Creed, there’s no initial rejection from the retired Shaw when he meets the younger heroes; in fact, he’s quickly leading them on the next step of the adventure. When it comes to legacy sequels, there’s a tendency to depict the original heroes as bitter and resentful, hiding away from the world and ignoring the problem until they’re forced to confront it.

Where to watch Monarch: Legacy of Monsters

This isn’t always the case, but Monarch’s use of Shaw saves time by having the character ready to solve the mystery. It also helps that Shaw is having a good time, and enjoys being back in the field after spending years in a retirement home. Part of Shaw’s charm is what Russell brings to the character, including his ability to laugh in the face of danger or shrug his shoulders at the supposed authority of Monarch once he’s captured.

Lee Shaw Is Already Becoming One Of The Monsterverse’s Most Important Characters

In addition to his overall importance to Legacy of Monster’s story, Shaw is quickly proving to be one of the MonsterVerse’s key characters too. He was there from (almost) the very beginning and was key to proving the existence of MUTOs and Godzilla himself. It seems he left Monarch under tense circumstances too, and there’s also the continuing mystery of his stalled aging, all of which future Monarch episodes will need to uncover. It will be interesting to see what Shaw’s end goal is – and if he plays a larger role in the MonsterVerse’s future.