Monarch: Legacy of Monsters brings us a lot in its trailers and the promos we have gotten so far for the new Apple TV+ series. One of those things is the casting of Lee Shaw. A character whose story spans throughout decades of his life, Monarch brings us a casting choice that really works and clearly inspired two actors to work together who maybe would have never had this opportunity otherwise. Two actors who have never met each other, obviously. I’m kidding, I’m talking about Wyatt Russell and Kurt Russell.
Lee Shaw is played by Wyatt Russell at a younger age in the 1950s. It is, from what I can tell, the exploration of how Monarch as an organization is set up and Monarch is an important part of the world of Godzilla. An organization that knew about the existence of the monsters who lurk in our world for decades, Monarch isn’t necessarily an organization that is out to help those around them and their shady choices have made it so that people don’t trust what Monarch has planned. What that means for Shaw, we don’t know. We will see how his life changes through the start of Monarch and on for quite a few decades after that.
What is fascinating to me about this casting though, as displayed through a lot of the advertising and conversations happening about it at New York Comic Con this weekend, is all about how the show uses Wyatt Russell and Kurt Russell as actors to make Lee Shaw come to life. Because instead of bringing them to life in the run of the mill father and son role, the show really highlights a new kind of way that real life father and sons can work together.
Tired, father and son casting. Inspired? Same character casting.
Lee Shaw needed to be played by a younger actor who looked like he could have aged into the actor playing him in the 50 year jump. So who better to play that part than Wyatt Russell’s own father, Kurt Russell? Many times throughout New York Comic Con, we have heard.
Often, fathers and sons are offered the ever so inspired casting choice of…father and son. For the Russell family, it is often worse because there are so many of them in the acting world. Letting Kurt Russell and Wyatt Russell explore a different side of their acting styles by playing the same character is an exciting choice for them and for fans as well.
We so rarely get to see something so interesting and new like this take over a show like Monach and knowing that actors like both Kurt Russell and Wyatt Russell are doing it makes that even better. Their track record as performers speaks for itself because even though Kurt Russell has been working for longer than his son, Wyatt Russell has an impressive catalog behind him as well.
All this just makes me so incredibly excited to meet Lee Shaw in Monarch and see what both Kurt and Wyatt Russell have brought to the two aspects of Lee Shaw’s life.
(featured image: Apple TV+)
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Rachel Leishman
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