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.
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.
