One of the biggest surprises of 2023 was Monarch: Legacy of Monsters. The Apple TV series focusing on the MonsterVerse's titans bridged the gap between 2015's Godzilla and 2018's Godzilla: King of the Monsters, offering up a surprisingly thoughtful look at the aftermath of a titan attack and the impact that it has on the families of this world. It also tied the events of those early Godzilla movies together with the 1970s-set prequel movie Kong: Skull Island via the Monarch organization and the Randa family mystery at the heart of it.
It was a surprisingly fresh take on one of the most ambitious franchises on the silver screen. We love our MonsterVerse movies but, with each release, it takes itself less seriously as it has found that sweet spot of senseless action-packed fun that movies like these are supposed to find - the ridiculously enjoyable Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire is the perfect example of that. And yet, Monarch adds emotionally deep layers to the story.
The powerful season 1 finale was a perfect example of this, and it has set the stage for a thrilling second season. Speaking of which, after much anticipation, Apple TV has released the first look teaser trailer, confirming the release date along the way.
Monarch: Legacy of Monsters returns in 2026 (but Godzilla might not appear)
It's official: Monarch: Legacy of Monsters season 2 premieres on Apple TV on Friday, February 27 2026. That release date is a little sooner than expected as, when it became clear that the streamer wasn't going to release the sophomore installment in the same fall window that the first season released in, fans were predicting that it might get more of a spring/summer release instead. But we certainly won't complain, as this has been a long time coming!
The season 2 announcement came with a brand new teaser trailer that offers up a first look at the new season. See it for yourself, and be warned, it's intense!
The trailer confirms that at least a portion of this season will be set on Skull Island, as two surfers end up on the beach - after being warned to steer clear from the restircted territory. Unfortunately for them, they are very quickly attacked by some of the islands creepy residents.
It's then that we get glimpses of the new season, which confirms that we'll pick back up from the closing moments in the season 1 finale when Kong emerges from the mountains of Skull Island. There, we see Keiko, Cate, Kentaro, May, Tim, and Hiroshi all reacting to his arrival.
We also see Cate at another time, during the day, watching Kong stand before her as he beats his chest. It's reminiscent of the scene from Kong: Skull Island, in which the iconic movie monster towers over Brie Larson's Mason Weaver.
There are more Titans to be seen too, with an octopus-like creature (with spiked tentacles) pulling a ship under water. No doubt that is only scratching the surface of what's coming in this season.
The biggest notable absence in the trailer is, of course, Godzilla. The King of the Monsters was all over the promotion for the first season, but he's nowhere to be seen in this one. The likely reason for that is the Skull Island setting, as well as the fact that the new season will take place around the time of 2018's Godzilla: King of the Monsters - when Godzilla was pretty busy handling King Ghidorah, Rodan, and Mothra!
The good news is that we do hear his roar at the end of the teaser, implying that he still could be involved in some capacity. As Kong had a cameo in the season 1 finale last time around, it's only fitting that Godzilla should get one here. We'll have to wait and see if that happens!
As for the biggest surprise of the trailer? The fact that Kurt Russell's Lee Shaw will return. In the season 1 finale, he ended up getting stranded in Hollow Earth, which led fans to believe that he might not return in the second season. But it appears that he will be involved in some capacity, and now that we know Hollow Earth can be entered and exited (albeit with a bit of time displacement), will his loved ones be able to find Lee?
Wyatt Russell also returns as the younger Lee, confirming that there will be plenty more flashbacks this time around too. And as this show is one of the few to successfully pull that off, we're ready to see it do it all again.
It won't be long until Monarch: Legacy of Monsters season 2 returns, and we can't wait. Is it February 27 yet?!