Summary
- Apple TV's Monarch: Legacy of Monsters cleverly tackles the CGI de-aging issue by casting Kurt and Wyatt Russell to play the same character in different time periods.
- Kurt Russell, a legendary actor, teams up with his real-life son Wyatt Russell to bring the character Lee Shaw to life in the new series.
- Lee Shaw is a mysterious Army officer who will be a central figure in Monarch: Legacy of Monsters, and his knowledge poses a threat to the Monarch agency, raising questions about his role as a hero or villain.
Apple TV's Monarch: Legacy of Monsters has come up with the best possible solution to avoid one of the most common pitfalls of CGI. The new series will follow the Monarch organization that has acted as a common thread between the movies of the ever-growing MonsterVerse that features Kong, Godzilla, Mothra, Rodan, and a number of other well-known kaiju. While CGI will obviously be used for the monsters that appear in the show, the folks behind Monarch: Legacy of Monsters have come up with a brilliant plan to avoid using CGI on some of the human characters.
The first story details for Monarch: Legacy of Monsters have been released, and the synopsis reveals that the plot will play out across two separate timelines--one in the 1950s and one closer to the present day. The story will center around a mysterious Army officer named Lee Shaw, who will be a part of both timelines. In lieu of using CGI to age the actor for Lee Shaw up or down, the show will accomplish the time hopping with a perfect bit of casting.
Apple's Godzilla Show Is Avoiding CGI De-Aging By Casting Kurt & Wyatt Russell
The character of Lee Shaw will be played by both Wyatt Russell and his real-life father Kurt Russell in Monarch: Legacy of Monsters, with each man playing Shaw in a different time period; Wyatt Russell will play Shaw in the 1950s, while Kurt Russell will play him in the modern storyline. As father and son, Wyatt and Kurt Russell can convincingly play the same person given their similarities in appearance and mannerisms. While the two men are in fact only 35 years apart in age, the age difference is stark enough to be believable.
Kurt Russell is a legend of American cinema and has starred in some of the most beloved films and franchises of the last 40 years. He became a megastar in the 1980s thanks to movies like Escape From New York, The Thing, and Big Trouble in Little China, and has crossed every genre since, appearing in iconic and popular films like Tombstone, Sky High, and Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2. Wyatt Russell has been a well-established actor in his own right prior to Monarch: Legacy of Monsters, and even has his own role in the Marvel Cinematic Universe as John Walker, first seen in the Disney+ series The Falcon and the Winter Soldier.
Kurt & Wyatt Russell's Role In Monarch: Legacy Of Monsters Explained
Not much is known about the character that the father-son duo will share yet, but it does appear that he will be one of, if not the most significant characters in Monarch: Legacy of Monsters. Their character Lee Shaw is an Army officer who will act as a through-point for the split timeline. His role will take place in the 1950s and during the events of the show which will follow the MonsterVerse following the battle between Godzilla and the MUTOs shown in Godzilla.
Per Deadline, the Monarch agency is threatened by what Lee Shaw knows, which casts some doubt over whether the character will be a hero or perhaps the primary villain. It remains to be seen how much of the story will be split between the present and the past, making it unclear how much of each actor audiences will see in the role as well. Either way, Kurt and Wyatt Russell's Lee Shaw figures to be heavily involved in Monarch: Legacy of Monsters.
Source: Deadline