Streaming’s Most Anticipated Series Has Been Renewed Before Season 1 Is Even Released
Citadel, the $200 million dollar Amazon streaming series from the Russo Brothers, has been picked up for a second season over a month before the first season even debuts.
If Jason Bourne, James Bond, and the Kingsman came together to develop a secret agency with allegiance to no country and only the safety of the world in mind, they would be called Citadel. The trailer of the new Amazon series starring Richard Madden and Priyanka Chopra Jonas promises viewers that director/producers the Russo Brothers are pulling out all the stops to bring the streaming service its next big hit. According to The Hollywood Reporter, the streaming service believes it has the next bonafide smash hit as they have greenlit a second season before the first season even drops.
According to the report, Amazon Studio Head Jennifer Salke has now signaled that the troubled series has apparently righted the ship as it has come together to produce content worthy of gambling on a preemptive second-season development. This news is particularly interesting considering the $160 million budget ballooned to over $200 million when a large portion of the show’s creative team had to be replaced, and $75 million in reshoots were needed. Luckily for them, the studio felt it was worth it, as Citadel has now become the second most expensive series ever to be produced after Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power, which failed to bring in the numbers.
With the Russo Brothers involved, the streaming service has a good chance of finding the kind of big-budget success that they need to recoup the investment. While the pair were behind some of Marvel Cinematic Universe’s biggest films like Captain America: Winter Soldier, Captain America: Civil War, Avengers: Infinity War, and Avengers: Endgame, they also have done well since moving to streaming. They brought Netflix two significant successes with some former MCU alums when they teamed up with Thor actor Chris Hemsworth for his action film, Extraction and with Captain America actor Chris Evans in the Ryan Gosling-led novel adaptation, The Gray Man.
Citadel also is doing well with the cast as it brings in multiple big names, including Game of Thrones and The Bodyguard actor Richard Madden and Quantico actress Priyanka Chopra Jonas. While Game of Thrones made Richard Madden a global household name, he has been relatively quiet as a leading man, appearing alongside other leads in films like 1917, Rocketman, and the commercial and critical failure, Eternals. On the other hand, Jonas has seen her star continue to rise since her breakthrough in Quantico as she has appeared alongside Dwayne Johnson and Zac Efron in Baywatch and Keanu Reeves in The Matrix Resurrections.
Citadel also is getting help in the cast from veteran Stanley Tucci, who is never bad to watch, so with his humor, charisma, and likable presence aiding two actors primed for a hit that’s helmed by two of the industry’s brightest stars in the Russo Brothers, it is hard not to predict big things for the series. For Salke’s sake, it had better be. Amazon may be one of the biggest companies on the planet, but sinking a total of $400 million plus into two failures could kill any company.
Citadel arrives on April 28.
