Six months after it was announced that a live-action Godzilla TV series is coming to Apple TV, we have our first casting announcements. Fast and Furious 9 star Anna Sawai, and Hearts Beat Loud’s Kiersey Clemons are among the five actors who have been announced so far.
The MonsterVerse (as its known) was reignited in 2014 with Gareth Edwards’ Godzilla, and was followed by Kong: Skull Island (2017), Godzilla: King of the Monsters (2019), and Adam Wingard’s Godzilla vs Kong (2021). Wingard is returning to direct another film in the franchise which will be filmed in Australia, and is set for release in 2024.
The show will take place following the thunderous battle between Godzilla and the Titans that leveled San Francisco (depicted in the 2014 Godzilla movie) and in the shocking new reality that monsters are real. One family journeys to uncover its buried secrets and a legacy linking them to the secret organisation known as Monarch. Other actors announced so far are Ren Watabe, Joe Tippett (Mare of Easttown), and Elisa Lasowski (Versailles).
This won’t be Kiersey Clemons first encounter with a Kaiju, as she starred in independent horror sci-fi movie Sweetheart, directed by JD Dillard. Clemons will be playing May, an American ex-pat with a roguish exterior that she uses to protect herself as well as others. She can decipher codes. Sawai plays Cate, a former schoolteacher and ‘G-Day’ survivor. She travels to Japan to settle family affairs but instead uncovers a family secret.
WandaVision director Matt Shakman is attached to direct the first two episodes and executive produce. It’s not yet known when filming will start or when the series will be released.
While we wait to hear more, check out our guide to the best monster movies.