Monarch: Legacy of Monsters Spin-Off Series to Star Wyatt Russell
Apple TV has announced the expansion of Legendary’s Monsterverse with a new untitled Young Lee Shaw prequel starring Wyatt Russell, reprising his role as Colonel Lee Shaw from Monarch: Legacy of Monsters. Emmy Award-nominated screenwriter and producer Joby Harold has been tapped to serve as showrunner.
Under a newly announced overall deal with Legendary, Harold will also oversee Legendary’s entire Monsterverse franchise for Apple TV, featuring both new and fan-favorite Titans.
Starring and executive produced by Russell, the spinoff series will follow the story of Colonel Lee Shaw, an American operative who, in 1984, went on a secret mission behind enemy lines in an attempt to stop the Soviets from unleashing a horrific new Titan big enough to destroy the U.S. and turn the tide of the Cold War.
The untitled Young Lee Shaw spinoff joins Apple’s expanding slate of original series hailing from Legendary Entertainment’s Monsterverse, including the broadly acclaimed, global hit series Monarch: Legacy of Monsters, on which Harold is also an executive producer. Monarch: Legacy of Monsters returns for its highly anticipated second season on February 27, 2026.
The new prequel series is executive produced by Harold and Tory Tunnell for Safehouse Pictures, alongside Russell, Chris Black, Kyle Bradstreet, Alex Boden, Max Borenstein, and Andy Goddard, and is produced by Kei Banno, Brian Rogers, and Kenji Okuhira.
Hiro Matsuoka and Takemasa Arita executive produce on behalf of Toho Co., Ltd., the owner of the Godzilla character. Toho licensed the rights for Monarch: Legacy of Monsters to Legendary as a natural byproduct of their long-term relationship with the film franchise.
“Viewers around the world haven’t been able to get enough of ‘Monarch: Legacy of Monsters’ since its global debut, and we cannot wait to unleash the electrifying new stories that Joby and the entire cast and creative team have been working on,” said Morgan Wandell, head of international content development for Apple TV.
“With Joby at the helm, and alongside our terrific partners at Legendary, this new spinoff will kick off an epic Monsterverse expansion that brings audiences even closer to their favorite Titans along with fantastic character-driven storytelling.”
“I could not feel more privileged to be a part of building out this wildly iconic universe,” said Harold. “Apple and Legendary have been exemplary partners throughout this process, and we will continue to bring these Titans of cinematic history to audiences with the reverence they deserve.”
“Joby is a remarkable storyteller with a deep understanding of what makes the Monsterverse resonate with fans globally,” said Jason Clodfelter, president and managing director at Legendary Television. “We’re thrilled to bring him and Safehouse Pictures into a broader partnership alongside Apple, marking an exciting new era for the franchise.”
Legendary’s Monsterverse is an expansive cross-platform story universe centered on humanity’s battle to survive in a world facing a catastrophic new reality — the monsters of our myths and legends are real.
Beginning with the Godzilla film in 2014 and continuing through 2017’s Kong: Skull Island, 2019’s Godzilla: King of the Monsters, 2021’s Godzilla vs. Kong, and most recently, the record-breaking Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire, the franchise’s highest-grossing installment and the highest-grossing Godzilla film of all time, along with the eagerly anticipated sequel Godzilla x Kong: Supernova, which is set to release in 2027, the Monsterverse has accumulated over $2.5B at the global box office and expanded into the highly successful event series Monarch: Legacy of Monsters for Apple TV.
Harold’s first foray into television was writing and executive producing Obi-Wan Kenobi, which was nominated for five Emmys and broke records for the service on its premiere. Harold has a notable history of writing and producing massive tentpoles and franchises, including Edge of Tomorrow, the John Wick franchise, Transformers: Rise of the Beasts, The Flash, and others.
You can catch up on the first season of Monarch: Legacy of Monsters, now streaming globally on Apple TV, ahead of the season two premiere.
