Monarch: Legacy of Monsters dives deep into the human side of the MonsterVerse. The Apple TV+ series from Chris Black, co-written by Black and Matt Fraction, uses family ties to fill in the gaps between 2014’s Godzilla and 2021’s Godzilla vs. Kong even as it looks back to the 1950s to explore the history of the shadowy Monarch organization. The series boasts an outstanding ensemble cast including the inspired casting choice of real-life father-and-son duo Kurt and Wyatt Russell as the same character, Lee Shaw, in different time periods.
Starring alongside Wyatt Russell’s 1950s-era Lee Shaw are Mari Yamamoto as Dr. Keiko Miura and Anders Holm as Bill Randa. Holm’s Randa is a younger version of John Goodman’s Kong: Skull Island character and, in story terms, is the beginning of Monarch: Legacy of Monsters’ Randa family tree. Yamamoto’s Dr. Miura is a Monarch founder and the grandmother of the series’ 2015-timeline protagonists Kentaro and Cate Randa, who, in discovering their grandparents’ work, draw the attention of the organization decades later.
Monarch: Legacy Of Monsters Timeline & All Time Periods Explained
Apple TV+’s Monarch: Legacy of Monsters show explores multiple periods in the Monsterverse timeline, each with their own significance to its history.
Screen Rant interviewed Mari Yamamoto and Anders Holm about inhabiting their Monarch: Legacy of Monsters characters, tying in with the show’s other timeline, and more.
Mari Yamamoto & Anders Holm On Monarch: Legacy Of Monsters
Screen Rant: I would love to start with Anders. What is it like playing a young Bill Randa? Were you taking any notes on John Goodman’s performance from Kong: Skull Island?
Anders Holm: I was reassured that I wouldn’t have to be John Goodman by the creators when they came to me about job. And I said, “That’s great, because I don’t know if I can get there.” The dude is a legend. He’s got more arrows in his quiver than I do, for sure. I just am bringing what I bring, and hopefully that works for people. But it’s very cool to, like, tell friends and family, “I’m young John Goodman. No big deal.”
Mari, correct me if I’m wrong, but I read that you got a BA in International Relations. Is that true?
Mari Yamamoto: No, it’s a lie. [Laughs] It’s true.
A big part of Dr. Miura’s story is that she’s Japanese working with Americans in the 1950s. Did that side of her character and her story interest you in any special way?
Mari Yamamoto: It’s funny, because the university I went to in Japan was built by Americans after the war, because they said, “We need to teach Japanese people critical thinking.” So that’s the school I went to. I’m sorry—what was the question?
Just if that time period was a part of the draw for you.
Mari Yamamoto: The character herself is such a special person. She’s obviously an anomaly, and that’s why she has the courage to leave Japan and go to America. They were at odds with each other—Japan and America—just a few years ago, and there’s still so much bad blood between them. To say, “I need to figure this out, so I’m going to go into the lion’s den,” in a way, “and do what I want to do, [and] pursue what I want to do,” and to have that kind of conviction is so appealing as a character to play.
Obviously, she’s flawed in so many ways, but I think it just makes it way more interesting. She’s so human; she’s so messy and complicated. And there’s nothing more fun than playing somebody that has so many layers and such a rich history. I love her so much.
Anders, you were talking about having arrows in your quiver, but you are known for your comedy and you do such a good job in this dramatic show; you clearly can crush it in both. Is there something from your comedy background that allowed you to give Bill Randa something that wasn’t in the script?
Anders Holm: I don’t know. I just try and bring a little levity to some of the scenes and to the character. I like to think that the writers kind of picked up on what my strengths and weaknesses were, so they started writing fewer long speeches that I can’t memorize and maybe [started] writing funnier quips.
Mari Yamamoto: There was a really sort of intense scene, and then Wyatt was like, “I feel like Billy should say something.” You added this really funny line that was such a nice button to the scene, and I laughed so hard. Then, when you first said the line, it just came out of you, and then Wyatt was like, “That’s why she marries him.” It was such an interesting moment of like, “Oh, that’s the dynamic.” So it really helped us.
Anders Holm: And I don’t know if John Goodman was doing that. That’s all I’m going to leave it there.
How much are the other storylines in the show on your mind as you’re shooting and making this? Do you ever feel like there’s so much going on that it’s difficult to stay present?
Mari Yamamoto: I read the scripts over and over, but when I’m playing the character, Keiko doesn’t know her grandkids exist, so there’s nothing she needs to know, in that sense. I’ve heard people say they can see parallels between Keiko and Cate, and I love that that happened—the resolve that they have, and the tenacity, and all of those things—and Anna and I never discussed if they could have anything like Kurt and Wyatt were doing. We didn’t do anything like that, but I love that it came out so that it looks like it kind of runs in the family; [being] this charge-forward kind of woman.
Is there any actor or character from the other timeline that you wish you had been able to work with?
Anders Holm: I don’t know… Watching it now, yeah, Anna… It’s so weird because you would just see them on set, heading in when you’re heading out, and you’re like, “How’s it going?” They’re like, “Good, you?” You go, “I don’t know. We’re all just shouting at screens, right? Let’s hope it cuts together.”
But everybody is so gripping and talented. Yeah, I don’t know… I guess Kurt, to just check that box. But everybody’s so fantastic. Joe… the list goes on.
Mari Yamamoto: Joe’s character is so fun. Tim is just so fun. He’s a theater guy, so I would just kind of love to mess around with him.
Finally, is there a specific Titan that you would like to see in a season 2, if you’re able to return?
Anders Holm: I mean, I’ve got to go classic with Mothra.
Mari Yamamoto: That’s a good one.
Anders Holm: Hide your wool; Mothra’s coming.
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
- Matt Fraction & Chris Black
- Ren Watabe, Anna Sawai & Kiersey Clemons
- Joe Tippett & Elisa Lasowski
Monarch: Legacy of Monsters
- Cast:
- Array
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- Rating:
- Not Yet Rated
- Seasons:
- 1
- Writers:
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- Streaming Service(s):
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- Franchise(s):
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- Showrunner:
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