Varun Dhawan-Samantha's 'Citadel' adaptation is now titled 'Honey Bunny'
What's the story
After months of speculation, Amazon Prime Video has finally disclosed the name and extended cast for the Indian version of Citadel, the celebrated action-espionage series from the Russo brothers. Titled Citadel: Honey Bunny, it will star Varun Dhawan and Samantha Ruth Prabhu in lead roles. The narrative is expected to fuse elements of a hard-hitting spy thriller with a touching love story, all set against the lively setting of the 1990s.
Context
Why does this story matter?
Citadel: Honey Bunny marks the web series debut of the Bawaal actor. This is Prabhu's third streaming project after her talk show Sam Jam and the critically acclaimed series The Family Man 2. Intriguingly, Dhawan had a vocal cameo in the fifth episode of the American version of Citadel, hinting that the Indian edition could be a prequel to it. Post-production activities, including dubbing, are currently in progress for the series.
Production details
Esteemed duo Raj & DK are heading production
The series is led by renowned creators Raj Nidimoru and Krishna DK, widely known as Raj & DK. They function as both showrunners and directors for the upcoming eagerly awaited series, with Sita R Menon co-authoring the script with them. The production represents a joint venture between Raj & DK's D2R Films, Amazon MGM Studios, and AGBO, owned by the Russo brothers.
Twitter Post
Check out the new poster here
.@PrimeVideoIN new series #Citadel @Samanthaprabhu2 and @Varun_dvn Honey Bunny FL 🔥
— Sekar 𝕏 (@itzSekar) March 19, 2024
#SamanthaRuthPrabhu #Samantha #VarunDhawan pic.twitter.com/kNzu5Pg9T4
Meet the ensemble cast
'Series is not a remake': Report
Dhawan and Prabhu aside, Honey Bunny features an impressive cast that includes Kay Kay Menon, Kollywood actor Simran, Saqib Saleem, Sikandar Kher, Soham Majumdar, Shivankit Parihar, and Kashvi Majmundar. Despite early conjectures that the series might be a remake of its American counterpart starring Priyanka Chopra Jonas and Richard Madden, Prabhu clarified on Instagram that "it's actually a spin-off with distinct versions planned in Spanish, Italian, and Mexican."
Statement
Prabhu earlier branded 'Citadel' role as the most challenging yet
Prabhu previously labeled her role in Honey Bunny as the most challenging of her career. Despite grappling with myositis, an auto-immune disease, during production, she demonstrated resilience and completed the shoot. Meanwhile, speaking of the Citadel universe, the series introduces an intelligence organization named Citadel. Operating without allegiance to any specific nation, the agency suffers destruction at the hands of Manticore, a formidable syndicate. Two agents—Chopra and Richard Madden—undergo memory erasure but are reinstated to prevent Manticore.