Apple TV’s global hit sci-fi show is about to have an intriguing new time travel story.
Monarch: Legacy of Monsters star Mari Yamamoto has opened up about Keiko’s story in season 2, following her displacement in the Monsterverse timeline. Monarch season 1 ended with Keiko revealed to have survived falling into the Hollow Earth in 1959, becoming displaced through time in a pocket of the underground dimension.
In an interview with ScreenRant’s Brandon Zachary, Yamamoto explained how Keiko’s story in Monarch season 2 will fling her right into the action with all the other characters. She’ll get very little time to adjust to her new surroundings before events begin unfolding, forcing her to quickly adapt to the new threats and challenges she’ll face:
ScreenRant: Mari, this season, you get to play with one of my favorite archetypes of sci-fi/fantasy, the character out of time, because you actually get to kind of interact with the rest of the world. How did you play with that this season?
Mari Yamamoto: Yeah, I think the great thing was that there’s actually no time to dwell on it. She’s immediately thrust into action after a little bit of disorienting moments. She has to find a path forward, and that’s who she is. So, it kind of felt very in line with how she would have acted anyway, that she’s gonna try to find a way to be useful. She’s gonna try to find her purpose. And she’s also a fiercely loving person, so even if she’s not wanted — I’m not saying she’s not — she’s gonna try to love as much as she can, and all of those things. So I think that’s how I approached it, just going back and forth in the timelines, but remembering who she is still.
When asked about portraying Keiko across two parts of the timeline, Yamamoto said she enjoyed being able to interact with all of Monarch’s major characters. She also reveals she enjoys filming the scenes in the ’50s the most, thanks to the era involving Monarch slowly discovering new information about the Titans. See what Yamamoto had to say below:
ScreenRant: Because you brought that up, that’s actually my other question for you, was because you had to play in both those sandboxes this season, do you have a preference? Do you enjoy the period setting of the ’50s? Do you have more fun, getting to banter off of everybody in the modern day?
Mari Yamamoto: I am so lucky, because I get to play with everybody. I think this is an incredible cast, and I get to act with everybody, which is such a luxury, so it’s hard to say which is more fun, because everyone’s great. But there’s something about the ’50s. Maybe it’s the costumes, I don’t know. It’s such an optimistic kind of time, and to be in an era you where you’re discovering the monsters, when you’re like, the first ones to see them, that’s really fun.
Monarch season 2 will see Keiko get thrown right into the action alongside everyone else. Two years have passed above ground since Cate, May, and Lee Shaw disappeared, with the group resurfacing alongside Keiko on Skull Island. Apex Cybernetics is currently conducting research on the island, their reasoning unclear but likely related to their future development of Mechagodzilla.
The show will also be focusing on the arrival of Titan X, a powerful monster rivaling both Godzilla and Kong who broke out of the Hollow Earth following the events of season 1. Keiko will be dealing with these new threats while getting up to speed on everything that’s happened to Monarch and the Titans in her absence.
Although it’s unclear what Keiko’s personal story will entail in the upcoming episodes, her involvement in the group’s fight against Titan X and potentially Apex will make her a vital asset. It’s possible her time in the Hollow Earth will also come into play, making her more vital than ever before as her knowledge aids the group moving forward.
Either way, Monarch: Legacy of Monsters has set Keiko up to have a vital role in how season 2 plays out. While the extent of her importance has yet to be revealed, what’s been teased so far by advertisements and Yamamoto herself indicates a strong narrative where she’ll be a central figure for everything about to unfold.
Monarch: Legacy of Monsters season 2 premieres Friday, February 27 on Apple TV.
Release Date
November 16, 2023
Network
Apple TV
Showrunner
Chris Black, Matt Fraction
Kiersey Clemons
May Hewitt