“Citadel” is eventually meant to unite characters from different countries and shows in a shared spy mission, like “The Avengers,” minus the superpowers. This is par for the course with executive producers Joe and Anthony Russo.
Since graduating from the Marvel Cinematic Universe in 2019 with “Avengers: Endgame,” the Russos have continued producing, writing, and/or directing projects for various MCU actors, including the late Chadwick Boseman (“21 Bridges”), Chris Hemsworth (“Extraction”), Tom Holland (“Cherry”), and most recently, Chris Evans (“The Gray Man”). “Extraction 2” is already in the pipeline, and the Russos have got big plans for “The Gray Man” as well, with a sequel and spin-off in development. “Extraction” and “The Gray Man” both went straight to Netflix basically (with the latter film only having a limited theatrical release one week beforehand), so streaming action thrillers like “Citadel” are very much in the Russos’ wheelhouse post-“Endgame.”
Richard Madden (“Game of Thrones,” “Eternals”) also knows his way around the genre after starring in the BBC One and Netflix political thriller “Bodyguard.” With “Citadel,” he and Priyanka Chopra Jones are now at the center of a project that appears to be following the shared-universe model of the MCU in the hopes of giving Prime Video a new flagship series.
Will it be any good beyond this trailer? We’ll have to wait and see. Prime Video was reportedly less than thrilled with the early footage for “Citadel,” which led to reshoots and the departure of some of the original creative team, including showrunner Josh Appelbaum, director Brian Kirk, and producer Sarah Bradshaw. David Weil, who recently wrapped the second and final season of “Hunters” for Prime Video, stepped in to replace Appelbaum.
Hopefully, all the money Prime Video has spent on this project won’t go to waste.