Giancarlo Esposito has done Marvel, DC and Star Wars — now he’s joining the Godzilla universe

Just when you thought Giancarlo Esposito had ticked off enough major geek franchises for three careers, he goes and signs onto the next big thing. This time it’s Apple TV’s new, still-untitled Monsterverse series — you know, the whole Godzilla, titans, and secret societies kit — and he’ll be turning up alongside Wyatt Russell, who’s already plenty familiar with giant monster mayhem.

Esposito picks up a major new franchise credit appearing in Apple TV’s untitled Monsterverse series, set around Godzilla’s universe and starring Wyatt Russell.

What’s actually going on here?

The show is technically a prequel, spinning out of last year’s surprisingly decent Monarch: Legacy of Monsters. Wyatt Russell is back playing a younger Col. Lee Shaw — so they’re keeping continuity with the original, for once. Set in 1984, the story follows Shaw as he’s dispatched on a classified mission behind the Iron Curtain. His job? Stop the Soviets from letting loose a Titan that could turn the US into bits. As you do.

Giancarlo Esposito and Tim Robbins have signed on as guest stars. No word yet if they’re playing fellow secret agents, despots, or just blokes with a clipboard, but if you’re after gravitas, you really can’t do much better. Robbins is a Best Supporting Actor Oscar winner (that’s Mystic River), and still turns up in Apple’s Silo. Esposito, meanwhile, is pretty much the only actor who’s had a proper go at all the heavyweight universes — he’s been Gus Fring in Breaking Bad and Better Call Saul, the nasty Moff Gideon in The Mandalorian, voiced DC’s Black Spider, popped up as Sidewinder in Marvel’s Captain America: Brave New World, and played Stan Edgar in The Boys and Gen V, presumably all while having a sandwich. He gets everywhere.

• Wyatt Russell returns as Col. Lee Shaw
• Giancarlo Esposito and Tim Robbins join as guest stars
• Other cast: Millie Brady, Pilou Asbaek, Corey Stoll, Ralph Ineson, Nyasha Hatendi, Connie Nielsen, and Stana Katic
• Set in 1984, plot involves a secret mission to contain a new Titan
• Execs include Joby Harold (showrunner), Tory Tunnell, Andy Goddard, Kyle Bradstreet, Jim Skotchdopole, Max Borenstein, Chris Black, Alex Boden, JD Dillard (who’s also directing), and Toho’s Hiro Matsuoka and Takemasa Arita

Toho, the folks who own Godzilla and let everyone else borrow him for exorbitant sums, are—naturally—involved on the production side as well. Always good to have the people who invented radioactive lizard disasters keep an eye on things.

And what about Monarch?

Meanwhile, the main Monarch series isn’t sitting still, either. There’s talk of the Apple TV+ show bringing in a new head writer and creative team for a possible third season, which could mean anything from a fresh tone to landing actual jaw-dropping monsters for a change. Whatever happens, there’s some proper franchise shuffling going on out there — exactly what you’d expect when you hand over Godzilla’s passport to Hollywood.