Joe and Anthony Russo already made Netflix‘s most expensive movie ever this year, with their spy blockbuster “The Gray Man” costing well over $200 million. Now it looks like the brothers’ penchant for mega-budget productions has taken over their next project, the Amazon Prime Video series “Citadel.”
The Hollywood Reporter has an exclusive scoop about how The Russo Bros.’ upcoming spy series for Amazon has become one of the most expensive series ever produced. So, just how expensive is “Citadel”? Well, it’s not as costly as the just-launched “The Lord Of The Rings: The Rings Of Power,” which boasts a Season One budget of at least $465 million. But the cost of “Citadel” has reportedly swollen to over $200 million, with reshoots adding $75 million to its already massive $165 million budget. That means Amazon boasts the two most expensive TV series ever made; in a word, yikes.
But how did “Citadel” get so expensive? Insiders told THR that behind-the-scenes struggles and creative differences are the culprits. In short, The Russos clashed with series creators Josh Appelbaum and Andre Nemec in post-production, with Amazon ultimately siding with The Russos. Appelbaum has since left the series, as has veteran TV director Brian Kirk, who initially directed five of the show’s seven episodes. “Hunters” writer David Weil is now on board for extensive rewrites. Cinematographer Thomas Sigel, who directed the other two episodes of “Citadel,” is in charge of the reshoots. He worked with the Russos on 2020’s “Extraction” and last year’s “Cherry.”
Before The Russos took over the show, “Citadel” had wrapped shooting late last December. The show is a passion project for Amazon Studios head Jennifer Salke, who has big plans for the series. “Citadel” is a spy show in the style of the “Avengers” movies, with super-spies from different countries aligning to take on an ultimate mission. Salke envisions several spinoffs to the show, with each spy having exclusive adventures in their home locales, like India, Italy, and Mexico. Richard Madden and Priyanka Chopra Jones lead the show’s ensemble cast.
But “Citadel” still needs to premiere before Amazon greenlights any spinoffs. The show is the latest production from the Russos that boasts major cost overruns. As noted earlier, “The Gray Man” is Netflix’s most expensive movie ever. “Cherry” also had significant extra costs for Apple TV+. At this point, The Russos are notorious in the industry for their lack of thrift. However, they also have a lot of goodwill thanks to helming some of the biggest movies of all time, like their “Captain America” and “Avengers” films. Netflix also claims that “The Gray Man” is their fourth most-viewed original film ever, with “Extraction” coming in at sixth. So, a Russo Bros. project means a lot of eyeballs and, therefore, lots of money for whatever studio funds them. In an industry that runs on finance and attention, that justifies their project’s swollen budgets.
And The Russos aren’t finished with mega-budgeted productions either. They claim their vision for their next project, the sci-fi thriller “The Electric State” for Netflix, cannot be attained with a budget of less than $200 million. Will Netflix foot that bill? They certainly will, but if “Citadel” is a disaster for Amazon, perhaps Netflix may reconsider.
“Citadel” is back in post-production, but Amazon still hasn’t set a premiere date for the series.