Warning: SPOILERS for Monarch: Legacy of Monsters episode 7.
Monarch: Legacy of Monsters recontextualizes the films of the MonsterVerse by adding new layers of personal connection and exposing what happened behind the scenes. The series deep dives into the Monarch organization itself, simultaneously exploring its 1950s rise as well as the state of the group after the events of 2014’s Godzilla. A key theme of the series is, of course, legacy, which plays out in the unraveling of secrets both familial and related to the truth behind creatures like Godzilla.
Though the show focuses primarily on the Randa family tree, Monarch: Legacy of Monsters has introduced a fascinating new character in May, played by Kiersey Clemons. In Monarch: Legacy of Monsters episode 7, May’s backstory is finally revealed, and it is worth the wait; it turns out May is a false name adopted by Cora, who is on the run from Apex Cybernetics. The reveal has big implications for the MonsterVerse considering that Apex Cybernetics created the big bad in Godzilla vs. Kong, which takes place after the events of Monarch: Legacy of Monsters.
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Screen Rant interviewed Kiersey Clemons about May, Cora, and how Apex plays into the MonsterVerse’s future after the events of Monarch: Legacy Of Monsters episode 7.
Kiersey Clemons Talks Monarch: Legacy Of Monsters Episode 7
Screen Rant: Did it feel like a lot of pressure knowing that you get this episode? Your character’s name is literally the title. It’s great.
Kiersey Clemons: I was really excited. I wasn’t really nervous, to be fair. It’s just one episode in comparison to making a movie, which I’ve done many times. I was actually really excited to finally, in the midst of making a show, have the experience that’s reminiscent of making a movie. I was also really excited to work with Hiromi, who directed the episode. I’m a really big fan of hers, and she was the perfect person to do it.
In your head, what do you call your character? Is she May or Cora?
Kiersey Clemons: I think that she’s May, just because I feel like she really grew into being May. It’s like someone graduating high school and going away to college and getting as far away as possible and then coming back completely different [after] finding out so much about themselves. I feel like that’s kind of what we’re watching with Cora/May, so I feel like she would want to hold on to May. Also, Cora would be nice to leave in the past because when she was Cora, she did a lot of things that are the reason she is May.
I was so curious about the timeline of how you understood the character because Cora feels very different from May. Did you kind of create May, and then work backward and think, “Cora is probably like this?”
Kiersey Clemons: I kind of had an idea of who Cora was, just because I had to know who I was hiding. I had to know how Cora would handle a situation so that I could not do what Cora would do, and do what May would do.
What do you think is the biggest difference in how May sees the world versus how Cora does?
Kiersey Clemons: I think that Cora is a bit more naïve in her ‘stick it to the man’, ‘eat the rich’ [mentality], and I think May is on the other side of it, which can be a bit bitter and resentful. [May] doesn’t want to spend so much energy on sticking it to the man. She’s been defeated a little bit.
But I think she’ll come full circle. I really try to take May on a journey. Regardless of what I’m given on the page, I try to take every moment I can with her to make sure she’s revealing something about herself or she’s hiding something. That’s really important to playing her.
It’s a reveal that she’s working for this company, Apex Cybernetics. How much do you know about how her work contributed to the Godzilla vs. Kong film with Mechagodzilla and all that?
Kiersey Clemons: I actually do not know that far. What we end up seeing at the end once you’ve watched the whole series is all I know as well. But we definitely spoke about Apex and things that have happened in the films early on. Before I even started the show, in our first meeting, we talked about that, and then we really honed in on what story we’re telling now with May. So, hopefully we get the opportunity to reveal that to everyone [and] put it in the story in some way.
You said earlier that Cora made a lot of decisions that caused her to run off and become May, but even May makes some strong choices. As an actor, were there any that you disagreed with, [and] did that make them harder to play into?
Kiersey Clemons: Oh, man. I mean, I probably, from the very beginning, would have just not entertained this whole situation. I probably would have been too offended by Kentaro ditching me and then showing up and wanting a favor from me. I probably wouldn’t have even gotten into all of this. But I get it as well. She thought maybe this is a way out, or something.
I don’t know, honestly, because when I’m filming, I don’t even think about that. I always focus on how I can agree with [her.] I have to justify all of her actions; otherwise, I’m judging myself.
Is there somewhere you’d like to see her relationship with Kentaro go, one way or the other?
Kiersey Clemons: In terms of a romantic relationship, I think what we’ve seen is all that will become of them, really. I think there is something that draws them to each other, and they have this instinct to care for each other, and it’s all love, but I think that they realize they were just probably using each other’s bodies for comfort and validation. They’re both hiding from the world. It’s what humans do. We’re not right for each other. Who knows? But probably not. I doubt it.
But is there a scene from this episode that you felt really good about, and that you were excited to get to do?
Kiersey Clemons: I was really excited to do the scene with Holland, who’s played by Dominique Tipper, of us at dinner when she’s trying to get me to work with her. It’s kind of the most that you really see who Cora is. That’s who the heart of this vessel of a body is, beyond Cora and May; that’s who that is. Even when I think about it, I’m like, “Oh, I miss her.” And being able to act with Dominique… she’s an incredible actor and has given me a lot of great advice and guidance in different ways, so it was just a really satisfying day. I really enjoyed doing that scene.
I hope we get to see more of you two together, then.
Kiersey Clemons: I hope so, too. I mean, the way that it goes, there’s no reason that you wouldn’t.
About Monarch: Legacy Of Monsters
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.
Check out our other Monarch: Legacy of Monsters interviews:
- Matt Shakman
- Sean Konrad
- Tory Tunnell
- Leopold Ross
- Matt Fraction & Chris Black
- Mari Yamamoto & Anders Holm
- Ren Watabe, Anna Sawai & Kiersey Clemons
- Joe Tippett & Elisa Lasoswki
- Anna Sawai (Episode 5)
- Anders Holm (Episode 6)
Monarch: Legacy of Monsters
The Legendary MonsterVerse continues with Monarch: Legacy of Monsters, a sci-fi action series created for Apple TV+. Set after the events of Godzilla vs. Kong, the series follows two siblings retracing their father’s footsteps to uncover the truth behind their family legacy. What they find sets up a story over three decades and explores the foundations of the mysterious company.
