New Trailer for the Action Spy Thriller Series CITADEL; The Russo Brothers' Answer to James Bond
Prime Video has released a new trailer for the upcoming spy thriller action series Citadel, which comes from executive producers Joe and Anthony Russo (Avengers: Infinity War, Avengers: Endgame), and this is their answer to James Bond.
The series stars Richard Madden (Eternals) and Priyanka Chopra Jonas (Quantico) as two secret agents who have had their minds wiped, and they find themselves on a globe-trotting mission to stop the rise of a shadowy new world order.
When talking about the series in a recent interview with Total Film, Joe Russo explained the series was very much inspired by Bond:
"It’s an accurate way to talk about it, without question. I mean, we loved Bond growing up. We’re immense fans of Bond, but our job is to try to take what we love about these sorts of genres and films that have influenced us and figure out ways to push them into spaces and places that surprise us … Our job as storytellers isn’t to bring you another version of Bond. Our job as storytellers is to bring you a fresh experience that you are excited and surprised by. So hopefully we hit that mark. We’ll see.
"This is a genre that traditionally has a male lead, and so what was interesting to us was upending that. Priyanka is really gifted physically. She is a badass on camera and she kicks a lot of ass in the show. Without giving too much away, her character is driving a lot of the action for the better part of the series, and Richard’s character is playing catch up. That was a really interesting and exciting idea for us."
This looks like a great series with high-quality production value, which makes sense because this is one of the most expensive shows ever produced with a budget of over $200 million. This is a passion project for Amazon Studios head Jennifer Salke, who was looking for a big project to make waves, and this one is an “Avengers-style spy show, with spies from key countries who come together for the ultimate mission.” Here’s the synopsis:
Eight years ago, Citadel fell. The independent global spy agency — tasked to uphold the safety and security of all people — was destroyed by operatives of Manticore, a powerful syndicate manipulating the world from the shadows. With Citadel's fall, elite agents Mason Kane (Madden) and Nadia Sinh (Chopra Jonas) had their memories wiped as they narrowly escaped with their lives. They've remained hidden ever since, building new lives under new identities, unaware of their pasts.
Until one night, when Mason is tracked down by his former Citadel colleague, Bernard Orlick (The Inside Man's Stanley Tucci), who desperately needs his help to prevent Manticore from establishing a new world order. Mason seeks out his former partner, Nadia, and the two spies embark on a mission that takes them around the world in an effort to stop Manticore, all while contending with a relationship built on secrets, lies, and a dangerous-yet-undying love.
The series also stars Lesley Manville (Phantom Thread, The Crown) as Dahlia Archer, the British Ambassador to the United States, whose loyalties may lie elsewhere. Highly cunning and ambitious, Archer is both a valuable asset and a formidable foe.
Citadel is the first in what Amazon calls “the beginning of an original landmark universe-slash-franchise with interconnected stories traversing the globe. The plan also included spinoffs that would see the spy characters “having their own adventures on their home turf. India, Italy and Mexico.”
The six-episode first season of Citadel will release its first two episodes on April 28th on Amazon Prime Video, with subsequent episodes rolling out weekly on Fridays through May 26th. Enjoy the new trailer! Th series has already been renewed for Season 2.
