Varun Dhawan joins the Russo Brothers' Citadel Universe: All you need to know (and worry about)

Varun Dhawan is trending today, thanks to an Instagram post with the Russo Brothers. With a bearded Dhawan posing against a black car with Mumbai’s Taj Mahal Palace Hotel and Gateway of India in the backdrop, the image is a promotional still for the Indian version of the upcoming sci-fi drama Citadel. 

The series is created by Patrick Moran along with Avengers: Endgame directors Anthony and Joe Russo who also serve as directors and executive producers. Intended to be distributed as an Amazon Original, the American series features Priyanka Chopra-Jonas and Game of Thrones alumnus Richard Madden as leads. Citadel’s filming was wrapped up this June and the series is currently in post-production. 

Dhawan along with Samantha Ruth Prabhu would be seen in an Indian accompaniment which as per the Russos’s Insta post will begin filming next year. The duo Raj and DK are also attached as writers and directors, Citadel marking their second collaboration with Samantha after The Family Man. 

Much in the vein of the Spanish heist series Money Heist (that recently saw a South Korean spin-off), Citadel would be supported by an Indian as well as an Italian version, There are further plans for a version set in Mexico and Italy too. 

What is Citadel about? With the English-language Citadel regarded as the “mothership series”, the show evokes tropes of the spy thriller and techno-thriller genre. The title alludes to a spy organisation of the same name with Chopra and Madden playing Agents Mason Kane and Nadia Singh respectively.

Even though most of the details are under wraps, Varun Dhawan and Samantha might also play similar agents in the Indian version. 

Would the Russos win over fans after The Gray Man blunder? Before minting box-office gold with Captain America: Civil War, Avengers: Infinity War, and Avengers: Endgame, the Russos marked their Marvel Cinematic Universe debut with the fan favourite Captain America: The Winter Soldier.

Captain America’s second solo outing played out as more than just a superhero movie with critics and audiences lauding it as an espionage thriller. Steve Rogers’s personal battle against the spy organisation SHIELD and its rogue agents indeed showed the Russos’s flair in exploring the spy genre. Alas, their $200 million Netflix feature The Gray Man failed to mirror this trend.

Even though the Ryan Gosling starrer dominated Global Top 10 charts this year, the thriller was widely panned and its exorbitantly high budget made Netflix reconsider its model of financing big-budget action flicks. 

The Gray Man was preceded by an Apple TV original Cherry, a Tom Holland-led crime drama that again failed to make a mark on audiences. 

Initially, Dhanush’s casting in The Gray Man generated hype among Indian fans with the Russos also making exclusive tours to the country to win over the demographic. Sadly, the end result featured Dhanush in a relatively minor role as Avik San, leaving several viewers with mixed feelings.

Hopefully now, with a version dedicated entirely to India, the Russos will manage to undo their mistakes. 

Does the Indian spy genre work for shows? Before the rise of OTT platforms, Anil Kapoor secured the rights for adapting the action thriller series 24. Much like Keifer Sutherland in the original, Kapoor played an Anti Terrorist Unit taskforce member who gets 24 hours to save the day. Airing on Colors TV for two seasons from 2013 to 2016, the format worked for Indian viewers and the show opened to positive reviews.

Ever since Sacred Games marked Netflix’s entry in India, police procedural shows and the like have become the norm to almost repetitive levels. When it comes to solely spy shows, The Family Man proved to be a major success for Prime Video India and by roping in showrunners Raj and DK, Amazon might be hoping for a similar response.