‘Monarch: Legacy of Monsters’ star Kiersey Clemons wants to get closer to Kong in Season 2 [Exclusive Video Interview]

Kiersey Clemons has appeared in several film and television projects over the last decade, everything from acclaimed shows like “Transparent” to indie favorites like “Hearts Beat Loud” to franchise fare like “The Flash.” But until “Monarch: Legacy of Monsters,” Clemons never had the opportunity to share the same universe with history’s greatest ape, Kong.

“I want to be on his back,” Clemons jokes while speaking to Gold Derby in an exclusive video interview.

That might have to wait until Season 2. Released last year, “Monarch: Legacy of Monsters” was a critical hit for Apple TV+ and its partners at Legendary, expanding the mythology of the MonsterVerse franchise to television for the first time. In renewing the show, Apple called “Monarch” a “global sensation.”

“I hadn’t had that satisfaction yet of being a part of this really big universe of monsters. And I wanted to see what it would feel like,” Clemons says of joining the show. “I also really loved the character I played because I don’t often get the opportunity to play someone quite so guarded. And I like to perform as far away from myself as possible. There will always be a part of me in whoever I’m playing, that is somewhere deep within me.”

Clemons stars as May, an American ex-pat with a mysterious past who lives in Tokyo and becomes embroiled in a globe-hopping Godzilla-based conspiracy with her former boyfriend (Ren Watabe) and his half-sister (Anna Sawai).

It is very difficult to play someone – introduce someone to the world – and for her to be so guarded. When you also add in the romantic element, it can make someone quite unlikable,” Clemons explains. “So, at a certain point, I had to just accept that’s who she was going to be. And that’s okay.”

While May’s intentions are unclear in the early episodes of the series it’s eventually revealed that she too has a connection to the world of Monarch, the shadowy government agency tasked with investigating monster activity on Earth and beyond. Years earlier, May – then named Corah – worked at the company that would eventually become Apex Cybernetics, the Monarch rival that spawned Mechagodzilla as seen in 2021’s “Godzilla vs. Kong.” While there, she was disillusioned with the company and later sabotaged some of its research before fleeing for Japan under an assumed name. 

“I don’t think I necessarily tackled it as separating it to make it so defined,” Clemons says of playing the two variations of May/Corah. “But I looked at it more so in the moments of the way that Corah would handle confrontation or conflict. She’s pulling back from what May would actually do. I think it’s more of there are things about May that Corah could definitely be more like. She’s not the worst person in the world. And so I kind of had to let go of that growth, per se. The stuff that May gained, the wisdom that she now is carrying that Corah doesn’t yet have. I had to put that stuff to the back of my mind. But it was so nice to be able to smile. Stepping into being Corah was nice because I got to hopefully charm people a little bit and win them over a little. I think it was time to see May smile and laugh.”

Season 1 of “Monarch” ends on a massive cliffhanger, with May and her friends having escaped the Axis Mundi zone above Hollow Earth (the place where Godzilla and the other titans live) with the surprise help of Apex Cybernetics. Even worse, due to gravitational distortion, time moves slower in Axis Mundi than on Earth, so two years have been lost since May and her pals entered the alternate dimension. The season ends not with Godzilla, but with Kong, making his first appearance on the show and roaring into the night.

“I don’t even know what I’m allowed to say, but we are going back, obviously,” Clemons says, adding she has already spoken to showrunner Chris Black about the season. “Everyone’s really excited. I have been speaking to Ren and Anna and we’re very excited. We’re really looking forward to it because our characters can go anywhere. The Season 1 finale kind of sets us up for such a great next season. We always knew it was gonna be a wild ride either way because anything could happen.”

“Monarch: Legacy of Monsters” is streaming on Apple TV+.

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