As with any simultaneous release of two different takes on the same concept, recent months have seen a flurry of fan debate pop up around the question of ‘Which is the better take on the mythos of Big G: Toho’s Godzilla: Minus One or Apple TV’s Monarch: Legacy of Monsters?’
However, rather than viewing them as competitors, the latter’s showrunning team of Chris Black and Matt Fraction have admitted that they instead view them as complimentary experiences.
The pair offered their take on the current intra-franchise discourse while speaking to ComicBook.com’s Evan Valentine on January 12th.
Pressed for their thoughts on Minus One, Fraction began by praising, “I loved it and having worked with Toho and heard how they viewed their characters, I think it was such a human story told in a way that was unique to the Japanese character.”
“It was a story that could only be told by Toho using their own materials,” the author of Marvel Comics’ Hawkeye Vol. 4 further opined. “I’m thrilled that it exists because it gets at all of the things that they would talk about in a very real way. It’s an incredible story of survivor’s guilt, courage, common cause, duty, dignity, and redemption. It’s beautiful, it’s fantastic, and the effects are incredible! It is a compelling, fascinating, involving, heartbreaking, thrilling story to watch, even without Godzilla.”
Piggy-backing off of his partner’s enthusiasm, Black then asserted, “I can only endorse and second what Matt is saying. It’s been a big year for the MonsterVerse and Godzilla Minus One shows how effective this story can be told.”
“You have this movie, our show, you have the Legendary universe, and they’re all very different,” he ultimately declared. “They tell the story in very different ways but I think they do it equally successfully. There’s a Godzilla for everyone! It’s a testament to why the character has endured for over seventy years.”
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A further testament to the granddaddy of all kaiju monsters’ continued endurance can also be seen in Godzilla Minus One‘s absolute domination at the box office.
Produced on a total budget of less than $15 Million USD and trickling out to theaters across the globe beginning in November 2023, the latest Japanese-produced Godzilla production has since gone on to pull in a worldwide box office total of nearly $100 Million – and with the film having opened in Japan to roughly $11.4 Million, suffice to say, the titular kaiju has once again established himself as King of the Monsters.
As of writing, Monarch: Legacy of Monsters has yet to receive an official second season order.
However, MonsterVerse fans can check out more of the titular cinematic universe when its next entry, Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire, roars into theaters on March 29th.
Meanwhile, a black-and-white version of Godzilla Minus One – aptly titled Godzilla Minus One/Minus Color – is currently set for a brief US theatrical run from January 6th to February 1st.
