Monarch: Legacy of Monsters may be the most human-focused MonsterVerse project (like following along with the time-displaced Keiko), but fans are still tuning in to the Apple TV subscription-exclusive show to watch giant monsters wreak havoc. So when Monarch Season 2 premieres on the 2026 TV schedule next month, not only will we spend more time with MonsterVerse mainstays Godzilla and Kong, we’ll also meet a new threat known only as Titan X. Executive producer Tory Tunnell opened up about the work that went into the creation of this Titan that’s still largely a mystery.
We still haven’t gotten a full look at Titan X yet in the Monarch: Legacy of Monsters Season 2 previews, and all we know for certain about it so far is it’s capable of traveling through water and looks to have tentacles. In real life, this monster comes from the mind of Monarch VFX supervisor Sean Konrad, and Tunnell described his vision for Titan X to SFX Magazine on CinemaBlend as feeling “dynamic and exciting and something we haven’t seen before.” She also shared that this Titan comes from the Southern Hemisphere, and that Konrad researched specific species native to the areas where Monarch Season 2 take place as part of the design process, adding:
Sean will often invite us on Zooms to look at species that are real. You think you’re an educated human, and you know what creatures exist on this planet, and then suddenly Sean shows you things and you’re like, ‘Oh, my God, that’s real? Where is that?’
Sean Konrad pulling from real-life sources make sense considering how many of the original Titans we’ve seen look like animals grown to gargantuan side and with monstrous characteristics added. This is especially evident when we’re visiting Skull Island, which is where Kong is still living during the point on the MonsterVerse timeline Monarch takes place. That locale’s Mantleclaw (which resembles a crab) and Mother Longlegs (which resembles… well, you can figure that out) are especially unsettling. Tory Tunnell continued:
We really want to have these new Titans rooted in reality, so we spend a lot of time making sure that they make sense, like the way that they’re moving, or whatever their fuel is, and that the whole idea is integrated. We’re also trying to match it thematically with what we’re doing in the show. There’s a lot of conversations that go into it.
It remains to be seen if this monstrosity will only be referred to as Titan X or if it will eventually get an official name, though Tunnell did note that new Titans introduced in Monarch: Legacy of Monsters are usually referred to generically in the script. It’s also important to mention that just like Godzilla in Monarch Season 1, Titan X is a monster that will appear both in Season 2’s flashback storyline and the “present day” storyline, i.e. 2017, several years before the events of Godzilla: King of the Monsters. As the executive producer explained:
Without giving any plot away, we’re really invested in keeping the spectacle of the monsters, but also the spectacle of our environment. We think the environment really plays into that conversation, and it’s partly dictated by the Titans that we’re working with. The story really is on a rail this season, in a way where the problem to solve is really urgent and really exciting and really dynamic. We continue to be on the move, so we still capture that globetrotting feel. We keep you guessing, we keep it interesting, and we keep it moving.
However things unfold in Monarch: Legacy of Monsters Season 2, I think it’s probably safe to say that Titan X will be dead by Godzilla’s hand by the end. I’d welcome seeing Kong delivering the killing blow too, but that doesn’t seem likely since this new monster dwells in the water. So our favorite atomic energy-breathing reptile will need to get the job done as part of his natural duty to maintain order between humanity and the Titans.
Monarch: Legacy of Monsters Season 2 premieres Friday, February 27 on Apple TV. In addition to the majority of Season 1’s leading characters returning (including Lee Shaw, which took me by surprise in November), Prey’s Ambder Midthunder has also come aboard to play Isabel, an “intelligent and powerful businesswoman.” Apple TV is also developing a Monarch prequel spinoff that will follow Wyatt Russell’s younger Lee Shaw going on a secret mission in Soviet Russia in 1984.
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