In this television age of revivals for classic and beloved series, one that has long been clamoured for by fans is HBO’s groundbreaking The Sopranos from David Chase. Now fans of Sopranos have gotten their wish as Deadline reports Chase is returning to the world he created with The Many Saints of Newark, a prequel feature film that he is writing with Sopranos writer Lawrence Konner.
New Line Cinema has purchased the script with Chase serving as an executive producer as well as writer. He will also be involved in the selection process for the film’s director. Toby Emmerich, chairman of the Warner Bros. Pictures Group, said “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.”
The film is set in the 1960s during the Newark riots where tensions between Newark African-Americans and Italians were at an all-time high with conflict between gangs of each group escalating to lethal encounters. While no further plot points were revealed, its possible the film will centre around Tony Soprano’s father, Giovanni ‘Johnny Boy’ Soprano, his mother Livia and his uncle Corrado ‘Junior’ Soprano.
The Sopranos became a huge success for HBO by putting them on the map for original content and is often regarded as one of, if not the best, television series was one of the first to establish a profitable DVD market for famous television series. The original series ran from 1999 – 2007 and starred James Gandolfini, Edie Falco, Steven Van Zandt, Lorraine Bracco, Michael Imperioli, Dominic Chianese Steve Schirripa.
Originally published March 8, 2018. Updated November 21, 2019.
