Kurt Russell's 2-Part Sci-Fi Series With Strong Rotten Tomatoes Audience Score Is The Perfect Weekend Binge

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Kurt Russell walking through the jungle in Monarch.

Published Aug 11, 2026, 6:01 PM EDT

Felipe Rangel is a Movie and TV Journalist ScreenRant. He has been writing about movies and TV since 2021. Felipe joined ScreenRant in 2022, working across different teams, covering everything from breaking news to features to reviews and more.

Felipe is a writer who is an avid film and TV fan, with superhero movies and series being his biggest passion. He graduated from college in 2019, having studied Journalism. Before college, he spent a month studying at the Oxford English Centre. His superhero knowledge expands to the comics, with his undergraduate thesis being "Politics Reflected In American Comics."

Kurt Russell is the star of a sci-fi series that is easily one of the most ambitious the genre has ever seen, and it makes for the perfect weekend binge for a variety of reasons. Russell's list of movies and TV shows is stacked with major releases, given that he is one of the most beloved actors of all time.

Russell has played a role in major releases of the most varied genres. If you are looking for Russell in an action thriller, then films like Escape from New York and Big Trouble in Little China are must-watches. In the Western genre, Russell left his mark with generational performances in Tombstone and movies like The Hateful Eight. The list is too long and too stacked.

That said, when the focus turns to sci-fi releases, Russell is also known to excel. From movies like The Thing, where he fought a shape-shifting alien, to Stargate, where he explored teleportation, to Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2, where he gave life to one of the Marvel Cinematic Universe's most despicable villains, Russell has done it all.

Legendary’s Titan Universe · From Godzilla to Kong MonsterVerse
Trivia Challenge

☢GodzillaThe alpha predator

🦍KongThe eighth wonder

🌎Hollow
EarthThe world below

⚡TitansAncient colossi awaken

🔬MonarchStudying the impossible

LET THEM FIGHT →

In the first MonsterVerse film (2014), Godzilla battles parasitic creatures that feed on radiation. These creatures are classified with a military acronym. What are they called?

ATitans BSkullcrawlers CMUTOs DHollow Beasts

✓ Correct! MUTOs (Massive Unidentified Terrestrial Organisms) are parasitic creatures that feed on radiation and laid eggs inside a nuclear warhead. A male (winged) and female (larger, eight-legged) MUTO serve as the first film’s primary antagonists before Godzilla destroys them both in San Francisco.

✗ Titan down! Titans is the general classification for all giant monsters. Skullcrawlers are from Kong: Skull Island. “Hollow Beasts” isn’t a MonsterVerse term. MUTOs are the specific parasitic creatures in the 2014 film.

Kong: Skull Island (2017) is set during which decade, with soldiers returning from a major conflict?

A1940s (post-WWII) B1970s (Vietnam War era) C1990s (post-Cold War) D2010s (modern day)

✓ Correct! Kong: Skull Island is set in 1973, at the tail end of the Vietnam War. The military escort led by Samuel L. Jackson’s Colonel Packard consists of soldiers fresh from Vietnam, which adds to the film’s Apocalypse Now-inspired atmosphere.

✗ Titan down! The answer is the 1970s Vietnam War era. The film deliberately uses the political backdrop of the war’s end, with Packard’s soldiers looking for one last mission. The period setting also explains why Monarch’s discovery of the island remained classified for decades.

On Skull Island, Kong protects the native Iwi people from dangerous subterranean reptilian predators. What are these vicious creatures called?

ASkullcrawlers BWarbats CHellhawks DLeafwings

✓ Correct! Skullcrawlers are hypervorous subterranean reptiles that killed Kong’s parents and are the primary threat to the Iwi people on Skull Island. The largest one, nicknamed “The Big One” (or “Skull Devil”), serves as the film’s final boss.

✗ Titan down! Warbats, Hellhawks, and Leafwings are all Hollow Earth creatures from later MonsterVerse entries. Skullcrawlers are the reptilian predators unique to Skull Island.

In Godzilla: King of the Monsters (2019), the eco-terrorist Alan Jonah unleashes a three-headed alien Titan frozen in Antarctica. What is this monster?

ARodan BMothra CMechagodzilla DKing Ghidorah

✓ Correct! King Ghidorah, designated “Monster Zero” by Monarch, is a three-headed alien Titan discovered frozen in Antarctica. Unlike Earth’s Titans, Ghidorah is an invasive extraterrestrial species whose presence disrupts the natural Titan hierarchy, forcing Godzilla to reassert his dominance.

✗ Titan down! Rodan is a volcanic pteranodon Titan, Mothra is Godzilla’s symbiotic ally, and Mechagodzilla doesn’t appear until Godzilla vs. Kong. King Ghidorah (Monster Zero) is the frozen three-headed alien Titan.

In the MonsterVerse, Godzilla’s kind and other giant creatures are collectively referred to by what name?

AKaiju BTitans CLeviathans DColossi

✓ Correct! In the MonsterVerse, all giant creatures are classified as “Titans” by Monarch. This distinguishes the franchise’s terminology from the Japanese “kaiju” while establishing a shared mythology where these creatures are ancient apex predators.

✗ Titan down! While “kaiju” is the Japanese genre term, the MonsterVerse specifically uses “Titans.” Leviathans and Colossi are not official MonsterVerse terms. Monarch classifies all giant creatures as Titans.

In Godzilla vs. Kong (2021), the villainous corporation Apex Cybernetics builds a mechanical weapon to challenge Godzilla. What do they build?

AMecha-King Ghidorah BKiryu CMechagodzilla DMOGUERA

✓ Correct! Mechagodzilla is built by Apex Cybernetics using the severed head of King Ghidorah as a neural interface. However, Ghidorah’s consciousness takes over the mech, turning it into an uncontrollable weapon. It takes both Godzilla and Kong working together to destroy it.

✗ Titan down! Mecha-King Ghidorah and MOGUERA are from Toho films, and Kiryu is the Millennium-era Mechagodzilla. The MonsterVerse’s Mechagodzilla is built by Apex using Ghidorah’s skull as its neural framework.

The MonsterVerse introduces Hollow Earth — an entire ecosystem within the planet where Titans originated. In Godzilla vs. Kong, what energy source powers Hollow Earth and its technology?

ANuclear radiation BTitan blood CHollow Earth energy (HEE) DPlasma vents

✓ Correct! Hollow Earth energy (sometimes called HEE or simply “the source”) is an immensely powerful energy that sustains the subterranean ecosystem. Kong’s axe is charged by this energy, and Apex harvests it to power Mechagodzilla. It’s essentially the lifeblood of the Titan ecosystem.

✗ Titan down! Nuclear radiation powers Godzilla specifically, “Titan blood” isn’t a recognized power source, and “plasma vents” aren’t an established concept. Hollow Earth energy is the specific power source of the underground realm.

In Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire (2024), Kong discovers a civilization of great apes in Hollow Earth ruled by a tyrannical leader. This villain wields a weapon crafted from a Titan’s crystallized spine and controls an ice-breathing Titan named Shimo. What is the villain’s name?

ACamazotz BTiamat CSkar King DDoug

✓ Correct! Skar King is a tyrannical great ape who rules over an enslaved civilization of apes in Hollow Earth. He wields a whip-like weapon made from a Titan’s crystallized vertebrae and controls Shimo, an ice-breathing Titan responsible for Earth’s past ice ages.

✗ Titan down! Camazotz is a bat-like Titan from MonsterVerse comics, Tiamat is a sea serpent Titan, and Doug is the fan-favorite friendly lizard creature from Hollow Earth. Skar King is the ape tyrant villain of The New Empire.

REVEAL MY SCORE →

Monarch Briefing Your Titan Clearance Level

/ 8

Monarch director — or still filing MUTO paperwork?

↻ NEW BRIEFING

More recently, Russell took his sci-fi expertise to the small screen with Monarch: Legacy of Monsters. The Apple TV sci-fi series has released two seasons thus far, with viewers currently waiting to hear whether season 3 is on the cards. Monarch: Legacy of Monsters is the perfect show for Russell fans, as it features him in the best possible role he could tackle in a major franchise.

Monarch: Legacy Of Monsters Perfectly Uses Kurt Russell

Russell gives life to the older version of Lee Shaw, who is one of the founders of Monarch, the organization responsible for studying kaijus in the Monsterverse, the shared universe that includes the modern Godzilla and Kong movies. Fans of the actor who have never heard about the Apple TV sci-fi series will be excited to hear that he shares the role with his son, Wyatt Russell, who will next be seen in Marvel's Avengers: Doomsday this December as John Walker. Wyatt plays the younger version of Lee, discovering many of the mysteries the older Shaw deals with in the present.

As Lee Shaw, Russell plays the most physically capable character on the show. Monarch: Legacy of Monsters makes him the daring voice of experience for the new generation of Monarch. Expect to catch the actor starring in many action-packed sequences, or delivering the most impactful one-liners in the sci-fi series. Russell also infuses the character with an impeccable sarcastic tone that easily makes him the most fun player in the group of characters set in the present day. Monarch: Legacy of Monsters' first two seasons keep putting Lee Shaw at the center of the show's biggest moments and decisions, and Russell delivers every step of the way.

Why Monarch: Legacy Of Monsters Is The Ideal Weekend Binge On Apple TV

Two seasons of Monarch: Legacy of Monsters have been released thus far, with 20 episodes in total, 10 for each season. As such, the Apple TV sci-fi series is a little too long to finish in just one sitting. However, by being able to binge it over a weekend, viewers can easily fly through the seasons, watching around six or seven episodes per day. Monarch: Legacy of Monsters is an ambitious sci-fi series filled with kaijus that are brought to life with cutting-edge CGI. Whenever a Titan like Kong or Godzilla shows up, it truly feels like you are watching a blockbuster movie.

Monarch: Legacy of Monsters has a high 81% critics' score on Rotten Tomatoes and a strong 78% audience score.

This makes Monarch: Legacy of Monsters an exciting weekend binge, as the main kaijus are smartly spread across the 20 episodes, which should make viewers inclined to watch them in rapid succession to get the most of the show. Additionally, Monarch: Legacy of Monsters is a series told in two timelines, with plots that connect, as mysteries are slowly unraveled, and plenty of cliffhangers are spread along the way. These elements are perfectly suited for a weekend binge. Finally, Monarch: Legacy of Monsters season 2 plays with time travel, and the payoff at the end is huge, so you will want to get that fast.