James Bond as a series that costs $200 million and is available on Amazon Prime. This is how 007 fans could sum up the Citadel agent series. The ultra-expensive prestige project of Marvel geniuses Joe and Anthony Russo (including Avengers 4: Endgame) sends Game of Thrones darling Richard Madden as an elite agent with amnesia in the field.
Citadel convinces with virtuoso choreographed action scenes and an extremely charming duo of Madden and Priyanka Chopra Jonas. But does the series offer Bond fans anything new at all? Joe Russo and director David Weil don’t shy away from the comparison one bit. On the contrary: in an interview with Moviepilot, they explain what makes their international series project even better
Marvel Masters on Citadel’s James Bond Influences: ‘We Steal What We Love’
“It is as the saying goes“, explains Russo in an interview with Moviepilot. “Great jazz musicians don’t borrow, they steal. We steal what we love.” And that’s clear: Richard Madden drinks cocktails in a tailor-made suit. There are fast-paced gunfights on the train. A paragliding scene. And a ski chase.
Amazon Prime Video
Director David Weil and producer Joe Russo in the Citadel interview with Moviepilot
But there are a few big differences between Citadel and the big role model, as Joe Russo emphasizes:
Bond is a white man’s film universe. There’s a lot more diversity at Citadel. There are two main characters. Priyanka [Chopra Jonas’] Character drives much of the story forward, sort of a reversal of Bond principles. We have characters struggling with their past and the morality of that past. There is no such dark theme in the Bond films. The Amazon series shows a story universe whose development is said to have been “tougher” than the last Avengers films
Citadel doesn’t just want to offer diversity in its cast. For the Amazon series are already several Spin offs plannedwhich not only take place in other parts of the world, but were also deliberately developed from other cultural perspectives.
According to Joe Russo, this challenge exceeded even the immense efforts of an MCU shoot.
There are separate teams in Italy and India, the ones with David [Weil] working to create the series universe. That is way harder than anything we’ve ever done at Marvel.
According to the deadline, Mexico should also serve as a setting. It is not yet known when the spin-offs will come. Sounds like a mammoth serial task, right? “There’s no one better for that than Joe“, director David Weil is convinced.
Whether he’s right about that, we can from April 28 on Amazon Prime Video find out for yourself. Then the first season of Citadel starts. But one thing is already certain: Richard Madden has a good argument in the race for the next James Bond.
The 10 biggest streaming films of 2023 on Netflix, Amazon & Co.
In this installment of our Moviepilot podcast, Stream Browsing, we take a look at the big movies coming exclusively to Netflix, Amazon, Disney+ and Apple TV+ this year. The result is a list of ten special recommendations.
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From the sci-fi epic to the potential Oscar nominee, everything is included. The talents gathered are particularly impressive. In 2023 we can expect new movies from Martin Scorsese, David Fincher and Zack Snyder in the streaming space, while Gal Gadot, Leonardo DiCaprio, Henry Cavill and Chris Hemsworth will be in front of the camera.
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