Citadel, an upcoming Prime Video television series executive produced by Avengers: Endgame and The Gray Man directors Joe and Anthony Russo, has reportedly undergone major creative changes and a blossoming budget. On Thursday, The Hollywood Reporter revealed that the live-action spy thriller series is now on track to become the second-most expensive television show ever made, after its initial $160 million budget is now having to add a reported $75 due to reshoots, which occurred this past spring and early summer. The reshoots are reportedly being done due to a creative overall, after half of Citadel‘s initial creative team reportedly exited due to conflicting creative visions for the show.
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Citadel, which is described as an Avengers-style spy show following spies from key countries who come together for the ultimate mission, was first announced to be in the works in 2020, with Eternals star Richard Madden and Quantico star Priyanka Chopra Jonas leading the cast of the series. Amazon Studios had reportedly already ordered several local spinoffs for the series, which would follow spies having their own adventures in Italy, India, and Mexico. The series was set to be showrun by Alias writers Josh Appelbaum and André Nemec, with Game of Thrones‘ Brian Kirk directing five of the seven episodes of the first season.
According to the report, creative differences began to arise after filming on Citadel wrapped in December, with Amazon reportedly having “some reservations about early footage.” The Russos, who reportedly had not been extensively involved in production due to their work on Netflix’s The Gray Man, reportedly pushed for a second competing cut of the series, with Joe Russo and Appelbaum ultimately leading the charge for their respective cuts. One source cited in the report says that Russo’s version would have foregone a massive ski and hang-gliding sequence that opened Appelbaum’s cut, before jumping five years into the future to continue the rest of the show’s events. Appelbaum was reportedly let go from Citadel days before Christmas, with Kirk, line producer Sarah Bradshaw, and others reportedly following.
“What should have happened was Joe turning to Josh and saying, ‘Let’s get together and fix this’ instead of going solo,” one source connected to the project says. “That’s not what partners are supposed to do.”
The Russos’ production company, AGBO, is reportedly now in charge of Citadel, hiring Hunters‘ David Weil to rewrite the show, and cinematographer Thomas Sigel to direct the reshoots. The show is reportedly now in post-production.
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