‘Sopranos’ Prequel ‘The Many Saints of Newark’ Casts Its First Actor
More than 10 years after The Sopranos ended its six-season run, the drama remains one of HBO’s most popular series of all time — so much so, in fact, that a prequel movie is now in the works. The project’s working title is The Many Saints of Newark.
Sopranos creator David Chase teamed up with one of the show’s former writers, Lawrence Konner, to pen the script, and New Line snapped it up. Together, the two Sopranos vets have written a story that takes place in Newark, New Jersey, during the 1960s, with Game of Thrones and Thor: The Dark World director Alan Taylor behind the camera. The film will reportedly unfold amid the era’s racial tension, which simmered before ultimately erupting into a series of destructive and deadly riots.
In November, Weightless and Disobedience actor Alessandro Nivola was cast in the role of Dickey Moltisanti, the uncle and mentor to Tony Soprano, the family patriarch portrayed by James Gandolfini in the series. Moltisanti never appeared in the series, as he was killed before the show’s timeline began, but he was referenced repeatedly as one of the primary figures who assisted Tony Soprano’s rise to power.
Moltisanti’s son, Christopher Moltisanti, was played by Michael Imperioli in the original show.
The initial announcement of the prequel movie wasn’t entirely surprising. Chase told Entertainment Weekly in June 2017 that he didn’t want to remake or revive the series, but revealed he wasn’t opposed to revisiting it in some capacity. Specifically, he said he “could conceive of maybe a prequel of The Sopranos.”
With the project gaining traction, The Sopranos creator is set to produce the film, according to Deadline, in addition to co-writing it.
Early unconfirmed reports indicate that The Many Saints of Newark will feature younger versions of Tony Soprano’s parents, Giovanni (aka Johnny Boy) and Livia, who were played by Joseph Siravo and Nancy Marchand in the HBO series. Additionally, Tony’s uncle Corrado Soprano (aka Junior) may also be back; he was portrayed by Dominic Chianese.
“David is a masterful storyteller and we, along with our colleagues at HBO, are thrilled that he has decided to revisit, and enlarge, the Soprano universe in a feature film,” Toby Emmerich, chairman of Warner Bros. Pictures Group, said in a statement.
There’s no release date set for the film at this point.
Updated on November 26, 2018: Added casting details for Alessandro Nivola.
