The MonsterVerse TV show that has been in the works for Apple TV+ since earlier this year appears to be coming together. Speaking to that, Variety brings word that Matt Shakman, of WandaVision and It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia fame, has been tapped to direct a show that does not yet have a title but will presumably include Godzilla and various other titans from the ongoing universe first established in 2014’s Godzilla.
According to the report, Shakman has boarded the project and will direct the first two episodes while also serving as an executive producer on the series. There is no word on how many episodes the first season will consist of but when the streaming service picked up the show in January, it was revealed that Chris Black (Outcast) and Matt Fraction (Hawkeye) co-created the series, with Black also serving as showrunner. The outlet also included a brief synopsis for the show, which reads as follows:
“Following the thunderous battle between Godzilla and the Titans that leveled San Francisco and the shocking new reality that monsters are real, the Monsterverse series will explore one family’s journey to uncover its buried secrets and a legacy linking them to the secret organization known as Monarch.”
Despite the lack of specific information about this show, it remains a fascinating development for this franchise. Thus far, it consists of Godzilla, Kong: Skull Island, Godzilla: King of the Monsters, and Godzilla vs. Kong. A fifth film, serving as a sequel to GvK, is also on the way from director Adam Wingard, with Dan Stevens set to star. The films have been co-productions between Legendary and Warner Bros. That’s why this is so fascinating, as Warner Bros. ultimately funnels lots of its content to HBO Max, since it lives under the same corporate roof. It remains unexplained as to how Apple TV+ managed to swoop in on this one, but one has to imagine HBO Max would have at least been in the conversation. But a Skull Island anime series is also in the works at Netflix, so who knows?
As for Shakman, he’s been quite busy as of late, having directed every episode of WandaVision, as well as the first episode of The Great. Meanwhile, he’s been tapped to direct Paramount’s new Star Trek movie, which is expected to be released next year, not to mention episodes of The Consultant and Immigrant, both on his to-do list. Be that as it may, that list just got a whole lot bigger.
There is no word yet on casting for the series, so it remains unclear if any familiar faces will pop up. The monsters are probably the bigger concern as they will surely make this an expensive endeavor, even if used somewhat sparingly.
The MonsterVerse TV show does not yet have a release date set.
