Any project – regardless of which medium it occupies – that runs up a tab of $300 million should at least offer a hint that it justifies such vast expense, but it would be an understatement to say that Prime Video’s blockbuster spy series Citadel has been found severely wanting.
It may have reigned supreme as the streaming service’s biggest episodic hit after debuting at number one in almost 100 countries, but a lukewarm 54 percent Rotten Tomatoes score is hardly ideal for the second most expensive TV show in history behind only Amazon’s own The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power.
With only six installments, it’s hard to quantify how they ended up averaging out at $50 million apiece, although the widespread tales of behind the scenes woes and creative reshuffles definitely had a lot to do with it. However, a second season and two spin-offs are already in the works, with The Wrap revealing the added caveat that Avengers: Infinity War and Endgame director Joe Russo will be flying solo to helm the entirety of the sophomore run.
While that should at the very least offer some consistency across the board, the Russo brothers’ post-Marvel Cinematic Universe efforts have been dogged by excess and criticism that they fared much better when there was a Kevin Feige-like figure to rein them in. The Gray Man and Cherry are hardly classics, but we’ll give him the benefit of the doubt for now, even if it’s going to be fascinating to see how Joe fares calling the shots on a mammoth production with Anthony by his side.