Sci-Fi Bulletin: Exploring the Universes of SF, Fantasy, Horror and Spy-fi!

Monarch: Legacy of Monsters’s first season was a major step change for the Monsterverse movies and a really fun time. The second season’s first trailer just arrived and here’s what Alasdair Stuart spotted.

0.06 – There is not a Titan in this wave

I did look though.

0.09 – High Alert Titan Area

One of the really fun elements of Monarch is how the show has explored what amounts to a post (ENORMOUS, ENORMOUSLY ANGRY) Singularity world. Titans are like incredibly violent weather. People work around them.

0.14 – Or They Don’t

God, the shot of something enormous emerging from under the beach is menacing.

0.21 – A SWARM?!

One of my favourite elements of modern American monster movies is how they’ve embraced the concept of an ecosystem. We saw this with the bugs in the last season, and in Cloverfield with the dog-sized parasites and it looks like we’re getting it here too

0.29 – Hey Big Guy!

The King of Skull Island makes his debut! But what’s that in the background over his right shoulder? And when is this? We can’t see his other tooth so we don’t know, at this point, if this is pre or post Godzilla x Kong.

0.33 – Wyatt Russell!

I loved the format of the first season, cutting between Wyatt Russell as younger Lee Shaw in the past and his dad Kurt as older, entirely out of shits to give, Lee Shaw. Looks like we’re getting more of that! Some interesting blue in the trees behind him too. Might be nothing, might be Titan goo.

0.35 – Kurt Russelll!

They’re being a little coy about whether Lee survived when he sacrificed himself so the others could get home in the last season. I like his chances.  Although a third time period set pre season 1 but after Lee ages might be fun.

0.36 – Crab! Or Octopus!

Or Crabtopus? Either way, enormous, annoyed and right there!

0.48 – Save The Date

Season 2 arrives February 27th. And we get Godzilla’s ‘SKREEEOOOOOOONK!’ under it to underline that. Brilliant.

Two last notes: That’s definitely not modern day Kong, given the first season finished with the characters arriving in 2017. That’s actually before Ghidorah’s appearance, so we’re still early in the modern timeline. The functional diplomatic relations with Kong and the Hollow Earth, the fall of multiple cities and the normalisation of life with the Titans is still just about in the future. That’s going to be fun to see the show play with.

Secondly, Skull Island, the Netflix animated series, is the great overlooked gem of the Monsterverse. It follows a group of scientists and their families (mostly) doing the right thing in the 1990s when they’re marooned on the island. It’s big fun, and was recently continued in a comic spin-off. It’d be nice to see some of those characters turn up here.

Monarch: Legacy of Monsters Season 1 is on AppleTV and it’s a great time.

The Monsterverse movies are also various levels of a good time. Godzilla, Kong: Skull Island and King of the Monsters are great, Godzilla vs Kong is fun and Godzilla X Kong is very good fun, Godzilla X Kong: Supernova is due out in 2027.