‘Monarch: Legacy of Monsters’ Interview: Kurt Russell and Wyatt Russell

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(L to R) Kurt Russell and Wyatt Russell star in Apple TV+’s ‘Monarch: Legacy of Monsters.’

The new series ‘Monarch: Legacy of Monsters,’ which is set in the MonsterVerse universe that includes the movies ‘Godzilla’ and ‘Kong: Skull Island,’ began its first season on Apple TV+ November 17th.

The show is executive produced by director Matt Shakman (‘Fantastic Four’), written and developed by executive producers Chris Black (‘Severance’) and Matt Fraction (‘Hawkeye’), and features real-life father and son actors Kurt Russell and Wyatt Russell both playing new character, Lee Shaw.

Moviefone recently had the pleasure of speaking with Kurt and Wyatt Russell about their work on ‘Monarch: Legacy of Monsters,’ having the opportunity to work together playing the same role, Kurt’s memories of working with his own father, and what it’s like to be on a TV series set in the cinematic MonsterVerse.

Kurt Russell in ‘Monarch: Legacy of Monsters,’ coming soon to Apple TV+.

Moviefone: To begin with, Kurt, can you talk about having the opportunity to work with Wyatt on this series, not on screen, but behind the scenes, to create one seamless performance as the same character? What was that experience like for you?

Kurt Russell: It was a bit daunting. We investigated it and realized that two known actors had done a lot of stuff, but the father-son had never been done, and we were excited about it. We were never really, I don’t think, intimidated by it. It was just like we were wanting to get out there and get after it. It was a lot of hard work, a lot of collaboration to figure out who Lee Shaw is going to be and what he’s going to do to help pull these two time periods together. That’s where I had the most fun with Wyatt, and ever since doing some of these interviews and stuff, we were just saying the other day, we haven’t spent this much time since he was playing hockey in Vancouver. It’s been great.

Wyatt Russell in ‘Monarch: Legacy of Monsters,’ coming soon to Apple TV+.

MF: Wyatt what has this experience like for you working with your dad to create the same character?

Wyatt Russell: Same kind of thing. I wouldn’t say it was daunting or I was intimidated, but there was some nervousness on my part because I’d never worked with my dad. There are all the comparisons, they can be kryptonite, they could also be great. So, it was like, “Well, if we’re going to do this, then it’s got to be really good.” The bar in my head, you set even higher than you normally do, and that’s probably a double-edged sword, a good thing and a bad thing. But I was excited by the opportunity to do something big and nervous. I remember my mom (Goldie Hawn) coming into my room one day and talking about something else, but she was like, and my grandfather on my mom’s side said this, “If you’re in the water and your toes just can’t touch the ground, that’s probably right where you’re supposed to be,” and that’s how I felt. It was a good thing, but that’s how I felt.

Related Article: Director and Producer Matt Shakman Talks ‘Monarch: Legacy of Monsters’

Kurt Russell in ‘Monarch: Legacy of Monsters,’ premiering November 17, 2023 on Apple TV+.

MF: Kurt, you worked with your father Bing Russell on a few projects, did working with Wyatt on this show bring back any of those memories?

KR: My dad and I worked together five or six times. We were father and son in ‘Elvis.’ He played Vernon Presley. But this is just completely different on its own, being the same person. We have slightly different energies or rhythms, but we have a lot of idiosyncratic similarities. So, we wanted to find the character, find the one that worked, that would be entertaining for the audience, tell the story, complete the mystery, and pull the two time periods together. At the same time, we created that blending thing to have the audience stop thinking about that and just at the end of it say, “We’re so happy they got those two guys to do it. That was actually a good idea.” It wasn’t a stupid trick. It was a good idea.

Wyatt Russell in ‘Monarch: Legacy of Monsters,’ premiering November 17, 2023 on Apple TV+.

MF: Finally, Wyatt, the show is huge in scale and scope, and is very cinematic. Did it feel at times like you were making a movie rather than a TV show?

WR: Yes. That was what was really the backstop for any of my anxieties, quite honestly, was then you’d look at where you were. You’d look at the scope of what it was. You’d look at what, in the first two episodes, Matt Shakman was trying to capture with the camera. You’d look at the costumes and what they were putting into it, and it was like, “Okay, well if I suck, this is all going to look awesome.” So, it did feel good and hopefully I didn’t suck. It was awesome. It was on a huge scale.

Kurt Russell in ‘Monarch: Legacy of Monsters,’ premiering November 17, 2023 on Apple TV+.

What is the plot of ‘Monarch: Legacy of Monsters’?

Following the epic battle between Godzilla and the MUTOs that leveled San Francisco and the shocking revelation that monsters are real, two siblings (Anna Sawai and Ren Watabe), following in their father’s footsteps, uncover their family’s connection to the secretive organization known as Monarch. Clues introduce them to the world of monsters and ultimately down the rabbit hole to Army officer Lee Shaw (Wyatt Russell and Kurt Russell), taking place in the 1950s and half a century later where Monarch is threatened by what Shaw knows. The dramatic saga, spanning three generations, reveals buried secrets and the ways that epic, earth-shattering events can reverberate through our lives.