Matt Shakman on the mega-series Monarch

Burning fields, suffering faces and a gigantic monster that brings nothing but destruction. No, we’re not talking about Godzilla, but the dragon Drogon from Game of Thrones. With The Spoils of War (Season 7, Episode 4), Matt Shakman directed one of the most important episodes in the blockbuster development of series. Now he’s bringing one of the biggest cinema franchises to television: the MonsterVerse with Godzilla and King Kong.

How do you pack the concentrated power of the MonsterVerse into a series? Monarch director Matt Shakman in an interview

The MonsterVerse was founded in 2014 by Godzilla, who hardly showed his hero, but impressed with the apocalyptic images of a disaster film. Three years later, Kong: Skull Island, a war film à la Apocalypse Now, followed, before unrestrained orgies of destruction such as Godzilla: King of the Monsters (2019) and Godzilla vs. Kong (2021) defined the MonsterVerse in cinema.

How do you bring these different films together in a series? I talked about this in an interview with Matt Shakman. He brought the Marvel universe to Disney+ with WandaVision. Now he’s accomplishing the same feat with the MonsterVerse on Apple TV+. Shakman directed the first two episodes of Monarch: Legacy of Monsters and also served as an executive producer on the series.

Moviepilot: I find the MonverVerse very exciting because each film has its own character. How did you manage to combine the different approaches in one series?

Matt Shakman: There are a lot of great filmmakers involved in the MonsterVerse who inspire me and some of whom I’m even friends with. What Jordan Vogt-Roberts created with Skull Island was amazing. The same goes for Gareth Edwards’ Godzilla. In the series we focused on the human perspective. Most films from the MonsterVerse exist on this Godzilla level, telling of epic battles in the stratosphere. We wanted to find out how the people watching these battles from the ground feel. The MonsterVerse films were an important guide for the series, but we’ve shifted the focus.

You can watch the trailer for Monarch: Legacy of Monsters here:

The very first episode takes us back to two familiar places: the prologue of Skull Island and the final battle of Godzilla. How did you weave the scenes in the new series with the old films?

I looked closely at how the films were shot and what they look like, especially the sequence on the Golden Gate Bridge. This ties directly into the Godzilla from 2014. We’re telling a different story, but it takes place on the bridge at the same time. I wanted it to feel like we were a part of the film in that moment. We just happened to have our eyes fixed on another event. So that everything fits, we have the production [von Godzilla] closely looked at, down to minute details, where the jets and missiles are in a scene.

Did you use footage that Edwards had already shot for Godzilla? Or are these all new recordings that were created especially for the series?

We shot everything ourselves, at least for the sequence that takes place on the Golden Gate Bridge. No material from any of the previous films was used. The only time I used existing material was in the prologue of the first episode. I included a few shots of Jordan [Vogt-Roberts] filmed at Skull Island. This allowed me to create a smooth transition before we see John Goodman for the first time in the series.

Did the old Godzilla films have an influence on the series?

In addition to the MonsterVerse, we looked at the wonderful Tōhō films, including Shin Godzilla, which was released just a few years ago. We tried to soak up as much Godzilla history as possible. There are also countless photographs as a reference for the 1950s – not just images from films, but from photographers. I like to put together photo collections like this in my projects to understand what another era looked and felt like.

What was the point at which you said you really wanted to be part of the project?

I read the script for the pilot episode by Chris Black and Matt Fraction and was completely excited by the ambition of the project. The story is told on several time levels. We have many different characters and therefore many different perspectives. I immediately fell in love with some of the characters and rooted for them on an emotional level. That’s the most important thing for me when I decide what to watch – and even more so when I decide what to shoot.

One casting in particular stands out: Kurt Russell and Wyatt Russell – father and son – play the same character in different time periods. Was this planned from the beginning or did the casting happen by chance?

I honestly don’t know who had the idea. In any case, when I came on board, people were already talking about it. I immediately said, “That’s a great idea! We absolutely have to do it!” We then had a meeting with Kurt [Russell] and Wyatt [Russell] and presented the concept of the series to the two of them. We were so lucky that they said yes.

We shouldn’t forget one important star: Godzilla. How did you bring this iconic monster from the screen to television without losing its impact?

Series are a place full of wonders – we saw that with Game of Thrones. Many series now feel like big screen adventures. Nevertheless, they differ from films in many ways, such as the running time. We can tell a story over a much longer period of time. From week to week you can return to the characters you love. That’s why we tell Monarch from the perspective of the people. Of course, we knew from the start that Godzilla and other monsters would appear. But the monsters only become exciting when they cross people’s paths. That’s why people tune in. We didn’t try to outdo the movies. Rather, they wanted to unite MonsterVerse with what series do best: tell human stories.

When Godzilla was released in 2014, there was a debate about how much of a monster to show in the film. Where do you stand in this debate?

In the end, this question is decided with the characters. We show exactly as much of the monsters as is necessary for the story. In the pilot episode, monsters appear in moments that will change the lives of many people. That’s exactly what the series is about: intergenerational trauma. The monsters are an important one – a huge one! – Part of history, but in direct comparison to the history of people they are only secondary.

It all sounds like you’re using the monsters primarily as a metaphor.

Yes, movie monsters have been used as metaphors since their creation. Back then, Godzilla was an answer to the atomic age. Furthermore, it is a metaphor for everything that is happening to the environment. That’s one of the reasons why the character has captivated audiences for decades. It’s just a good figure – and it’s extremely entertaining. That’s why I fell in love with Godzilla as a child. Now I am very proud to be a part of his story myself.

Do you have a favorite film from the Godzilla series?

The original, the first [Godzilla von 1954].

The first two episodes of Monarch: Legacy of Monsters were released on Apple TV+ on November 17, 2023. The remaining eight episodes appear every Friday on a weekly basis.

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