Warning: Spoilers for Monarch: Legacy of Monsters episode 10

Summary

• Monarch: Legacy of Monsters explores the hidden Hollow Earth world in the Monsterverse, but avoids using the term "Hollow Earth" to explain its connection.
• The term "Axis Mundi" is used to describe this new world, representing the connection between Heaven and Earth and serving as a bridge to the Hollow Earth.
• The time jumps and different sense of time experienced in Axis Mundi may be exclusive to this location, indicating that events in Monarch: Legacy of Monsters may not reflect what happens in future Godzilla and Kong movies.

Monarch: Legacy of Monsters characters found themselves in a mysterious new locale in the Monsterverse. Based on the many developments that transpired in Kong: Skull Island, Godzilla: King of the Monsters, and Godzilla vs. Kong, it'd be to assume Monarch: Legacy of Monsters has visited the latter movie's hidden Hollow Earth world, but the connection may be a bit more complicated.

After establishing the possible existence of an underground region of the Earth in Kong: Skull Island, the Monsterverse has seized on three opportunities to show off what's below the surface. The first was in King of the Monsters, which saw Monarch follow Godzilla into an underwater tunnel that housed an ancient, destroyed civilization. The Monsterverse followed up with this reveal by unveiling a massive subterranean ecosystem in Godzilla vs. Kong. A similar excursion was made in Monarch: Legacy of Monsters' last two episodes, but neither dropped any mentions of the "Hollow Earth" term.

Monarch's Place In The Monsterverse Timeline Explains Why The Hollow Earth Isn't Mentioned

Much of the confusion surrounding the Hollow Earth's link to the show's story is its avoidance of the name. Though "Hollow Earth" has been thrown around quite often in Godzilla and Kong's Monsterverse movies, Monarch: Legacy of Monsters has elected not to call it that even once. However, that's not to say the series is distancing itself from the Hollow Earth. To the contrary, it's more likely that the Hollow Earth hasn't been mentioned simply because it hasn't been given that designation yet.

As depicted in Kong: Skull Island, Houston Brooks is the one credited with creating the Hollow Earth theory. While Monarch: Legacy of Monsters has confirmed that the framework came from Bill Randa in 1956, it's important to note that all of these flashbacks predate Randa meeting Brooks. Presumably, it's not until then that Randa's ideas evolved to include the "Hollow Earth" term. That would explain why "Axis Mundi" is used by Keiko Randa in its place. She disappeared in 1959 and never heard Brooks' theories. It's not used in the 2015 storyline either, possibly because the Hollow Earth didn't become the official name of the Titans' world until 2019 when Monarch found the tunnel leading to Godzilla's underwater city.

The Meaning Of Axis Mundi Explained

Keiko Randa's use of the words "Axis Mundi" sheds additional light on where this place fits into Monsterverse lore. "Axis mundi" is a phrase with Latin origins. In a geographical sense, it refers to the planet's axis of rotation. However, it seems Keiko's use of the phrase has less to do with that and more with its mythological and religious connotations. Various cultures view "Axis mundi" as the connection between Heaven and Earth. That goes in hand-in-hand with Keiko Randa's decision to call Monarch: Legacy of Monsters' world "Axis Mundi." Right before using the phrase, she describes this region as a "place between places."

Axis Mundi Is A Bridge To The Hollow Earth

The meaning of Axis Mundi, combined with Keiko Randa's interpretation, provides clarity about this new world's ties to the Hollow Earth. After Cate described it as the "realm of the Titans" in the Monarch: Legacy of Monsters season 1 finale, Keiko disagreed with her assessment, arguing that she doesn't think it is the Titans' world at all. That's where her idea of it being a "place between places" comes into play. Similar to how "Axis Mundi" refers to the link between Heaven and Earth, it would appear that Axis Mundi is the place between the surface and the Hollow Earth.

When the APEX vessel and Kong enter the rift in Godzilla vs. Kong, they can be seen crossing a great distance, which may or may not include Axis Mundi. Whereas Kong and APEX ed directly into the Hollow Earth world, the characters featured in Monarch: Legacy of Monsters may not have been able to go as far. Keiko's theories that notion.

Axis Mundi being a bridge to the Hollow Earth - as opposed to the Hollow Earth itself - could factor into why time works the way it does in Monarch: Legacy of Monsters but not in Godzilla vs. Kong. There was no indication of time ing differently in the Godzilla vs. Kong. That's because this issue may be exclusive to Axis Mundi, and not a problem experienced by those who are able to all the way through to the Hollow Earth. In other words, what happened in the last two episodes, and the finale's time jump, may not be a sign of things to come for Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire.