What to Watch Before 'Monarch: Legacy of Monsters'

The new Apple TV+ series Monarch: Legacy of Monsters stars father-and-son acting duo Kurt Russell and Wyatt Russell as the older and younger versions of the same character in a timeline-switching, multi-generational mystery. But don't worry, this isn't a family saga of the prestige television variety: it's a good old-fashioned monster fest set in a fictional universe where Godzilla and King Kong both exist.

Monarch: Legacy of Monsters takes place in the "MonsterVerse," Legendary Entertainment's ongoing franchise which began with 2014's Godzilla. Since then there have been three subsequent movies—Kong: Skull Island, Godzilla: King of the Monsters, and Godzilla v. Kong—as well as the animated series Skull Island.

But don't worry: you don't need to watch every single previous installment of this ever-expanding series to enjoy Monarch: Legacy of Monsters. Here's everything you need to get ready for the new show.

What to watch in order to understand the new TV series:

Monarch: Legacy of Monsters begins in the immediate aftermath of the climactic battle between Godzilla and the MUTO/kaiju monsters in San Francisco at the end of the 2014 Godzilla movie. In fact, the first episode of the show is entitled "Aftermath," and follows a survivor of the "G-Day" incident as she investigates old family secrets and discovers a surprising link to the mysterious Monarch organization.

This means that even though Monarch: Legacy of Monsters was released nearly a decade after Godzilla, it is a direct sequel to that movie, making it the only one you have to watch to prepare for the TV series.

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