Mumbai, Dec 20 (IANS): Bollywood star Varun Dhawan is all set to headline Prime Video's Indian original series within the 'Citadel' franchise created by Raj & DK.
The untitled Citadel series based out of India will be led by renowned creator duo Raj & DK (Raj Nidimoru and Krishna DK), who are the showrunners, directors of the series, and will feature Varun Dhawan in the lead role.
Varun Dhawan said, "Citadel is an exceptionally ambitious and exciting franchise, and to be part of this magnificent universe, conceptualised by the Russo Brothers' AGBO and Jennifer Salke, is a landmark moment in my career. I have been a big fan of their work and I am beyond thrilled to be a part of this project, and can't wait to start shooting it."
"The storyline of the Indian Citadel chapter is fantastic, and when you have creators like Raj & DK on board, one can be certain that a spectacle is in the making."
Written by Sita R. Menon along with Raj & DK, the local Original spy series, which starts filming in January 2023, will mark Dhawan's streaming debut.
As previously announced, Richard Madden (Bodyguard) and Priyanka Chopra Jonas (Quantico) will star in the first-to-launch series within the Citadel universe, which comes from the Russo Brothers' AGBO along with David Weil (Hunters) and is set to premiere in 2023.
Alongside Richard Madden and Priyanka Chopra Jonas, the first-to-launch 'Citadel' series will also feature Stanley Tucci (The Hunger Games saga). Additional local-language Citadel productions are also in the works, including an Italian Original series starring Matilda De Angelis (The Undoing).
"The Citadel universe from the Russo Brothers' AGBO is a truly innovative and ambitious approach to storytelling, and we are super excited to begin production on the Indian chapter. With this project, we are building on our mission of borderless entertainment to produce local Original content that can be enjoyed by audiences across the world. Citadel is a truly global franchise, with local productions, across countries, that build back to an inter-connected storyline—a first-of-its-kind innovation in storytelling," said Gaurav Gandhi, vice president, Prime Video India.
"We are delighted to have Varun Dhawan play the lead in this super exciting Indian installment of the franchise. With Raj and DK at the helm of creating this action-packed spy series, and Varun playing the lead, we believe the Citadel India chapter will not just raise the bar in terms of Original productions in India, it will also bring global attention to India's incredible pool of creators and talent. We can't wait to share it with our audience in India and around the world."
Anthony and Joe Russo said that they are thrilled to see yet another production within the 'Citadel' universe commencing, this time in India.
"We, and all of AGBO, consider it an honor to be collaborating with filmmakers as inspiring as DK and Raj, who bring a unique vision, style, and tone to our collection of global series. And, we can't wait to see how this remarkable cast brings their and Sita's imaginative characters to life," they said.
Raj Nidimoru and Krishna DK under their banner D2R Films will also serve as executive producers.
The series is produced by D2R Films, and Amazon Studios, with AGBO's Anthony Russo, Joe Russo, Mike Larocca, Angela Russo-Otstot, Scott Nemes, and David Weil (Hunters) overseeing production on the Indian Original and all series within the global Citadel universe.
Josh Applebaum, Andre Nemec, Jeff Pinkner, and Scott Rosenberg serve as executive producers for Midnight Radio on the untitled Indian Original and all series within the global Citadel universe.