Apple TV’s New Monsterverse Spinoff In Cold War Timeline Gets Major Filming Update & Plot Tease Ahead Of Monarch Season 2 Release

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Apple TV+’s upcoming Monsterverse series, set during the Cold War, has received a significant update regarding filming, along with a hint about the storyline, just before the second season of Monarch: Legacy of Monsters premieres.

The Monsterverse series, which began in 2023, centers around the Monarch organization and their encounters with Godzilla and other massive creatures over a 50-year period. Apple TV has also commissioned a spin-off series set during the Cold War, premiering in 2025, featuring Wyatt Russell as a younger version of Lee Shaw. Kurt Russell, Wyatt’s father, will play the older Lee Shaw in the show.

Ahead of the February 27th premiere of Monarch: Legacy of Monsters season 2, executive producer Tory Tunnell told Collider that filming for the Lee Shaw spinoff series will begin in the spring. She also shared that the new series will stand out due to its Cold War backdrop and will be designed to be easy for new viewers to jump into.

We’re already planning our next show in the series, which we’ll be filming this spring, as we continue to develop this world. We want to surprise viewers and introduce more powerful characters, the Titans, to demonstrate just how expansive and exciting our universe is. That’s what makes creating this show so enjoyable.

The new show is designed to be enjoyable even if you haven’t seen any of the previous movies or ‘Monarch: Legacy of Monsters’. It will have a different feel than what audiences are used to – a bit edgier and more character-driven, like a punk rock take on a Cold War spy thriller with unexpected twists.

As we develop this universe, we’re focused on giving each story its own unique identity and avoiding repetition. It’s a top priority for us that each show can stand alone and appeal to viewers who might not already be monster fans. Ideally, someone could discover the genre through one of our shows and then be inspired to explore other related content, like ‘Monarch: Legacy of Monsters’ or the classic Toho films. We believe this enthusiasm will spread, especially as audiences recognize that, like all great science fiction and horror, monsters can be a powerful metaphor for real-world issues.

We’re aiming high and want to keep delivering fresh, exciting content to our audience as regularly as possible.

Wyatt Russell hinted that the upcoming series focusing on his character, Lee Shaw, will explore the character’s past in the 1980s. He’s read the first episode’s script and is very pleased with how the show is developing. What he finds most exciting is the way it combines monster lore with a compelling, personal story.

Let me hint that what’s coming will be completely unexpected. I think audiences will have one idea of what to expect, and then be totally surprised. It will explore Lee’s life in more detail after his initial success, focusing on the period after 1982 when he was sidelined, and then what happens next – why he’s brought back and the mission he undertakes. I’m incredibly enthusiastic about this project; it’s the most excited I’ve been about something in a long time.

I’ve finally seen the first episode, and honestly, the writing is fantastic. It’s all thanks to Joby Harold, who’s not only writing it but also running the show. Seeing it all come together like this is incredibly exciting, and I’m really eager to see how this character develops. We’ve already glimpsed an older version of him, and now we’re going to understand the experiences that have shaped everything we’ll continue to see unfold in Monarch.

It’s a combination of things, and it’s hard to explain exactly what those are right now. What’s really impressive is how seamlessly the monsters and the MonsterVerse are woven into a very human story, particularly through the Monarch organization. It feels a bit more streamlined than previous iterations, with fewer characters and a focus on what’s happening right now, rather than dwelling on the past. Joby did a fantastic job bringing all these elements together, and I’m really looking forward to seeing it.

Monarch: Legacy of Monsters, created by Chris Black and Matt Fraction, centers around Cate and Kentaro Randa as they search for their missing father, Hiroshi, and uncover his ties to the mysterious organization, Monarch. The story jumps between timelines, showing how scientists Bill Randa and Keiko Miura helped build Monarch in its early days, and how Lee Shaw became a long-time friend and ally to the Randa family.

The cast of Monarch: Legacy of Monsters features Anna Sawai, Kiersey Clemons, Ren Watabe, Mari Yamamoto, Anders Holm, Joe Tippett, and Elisa Lasowski. Joining the show for season two are Amber Midthunder, Curtiss Cook, Cliff Curtis, and Camilo Jiménez Varón.

Joby Harold is leading the upcoming Monsterverse spinoff series about Lee Shaw. He’s the showrunner and executive producer, working alongside his wife and collaborator, Tory Tunnell.

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2026-02-21 00:21