The Many Saints of Newark: A Sopranos Movie

The Sopranos aired its finale almost 14 years ago in 2006, but its effects can still be felt today in popular culture as well as in modern television. The Sopranos popularised the concept of an anti-hero and changed it for all future shows. Understandably, people didn’t quite have enough with 6 seasons and for them, there is good news. A prequel to The Sopranos is scheduled to be released for the 25th of September 2020, and it will be called ‘The Many Saints of Newark’.

What we know about The Many Saints of Newark

So far, what we do know is that Michael Gandolfini will star in the movie playing the infamous mob boss Tony Soprano. James Gandolfini immortalized this character in the TV show, however, he tragically passed away in 2013. Tony Soprano holds a special place in television history, which will put his son into much scrutiny for portraying that character in his late teens. We’re hoping that his striking resemblance with his father pays off with some memorable acting.

The rest of the cast was an exciting revelation for the fans. Ray Liotta will be a part of the cast, who played his iconic role in Goodfellas as Henry Hill. Vera Farmiga is also a part of the cast as Lyvia Soprano, the infamous mother of the mob boss Tony Soprano. The Punisher’s Jon Bernthal has also been confirmed as a part of the cast. However, the character he plays is unclear at this point.

The best news the fans got about the Many Saints of Newark was that David Chase is a part of the production and the writing team. The Sopranos has always been his brainchild since day 1 and without his expertise, none of this would be possible. Moreover, the fans welcomed Alan Taylor as the director too. The reason for that being that he directed 9 episodes of The Sopranos himself. He directed the Emmy winning episode ‘Kennedy and Heidi’ from Season 6 of The Sopranos. Along with that, he has directed many great episodes of the famous TV show Game of Thrones. Therefore the movie is quite secure in terms of its plot as well as direction.

What can we expect from the plot?

Originally, David Chase intended to make a sequel to The Sopranos. However, a prequel was approved instead due to the tragic passing of James Gandolfini. The plot of the movie is set up in 1967, during the Newark race riots as confirmed by show star Michael Imperioli. However, during that time Tony Soprano himself was 7 years old and Michael plays the role of the mob boss in his late teens. Therefore it is clear that the plot of the film will span across decades, with chances of flashbacks.

A piece of welcome news for many fans is that Dicky Moltisanti will be a part of the plot, played by Allesandro Nivola. As we know, Dicky Moltisanti was an important figure in the life of Tony Soprano. He was also the father of one of the star characters from the TV Show Christopher Moltisanti. This means that we’ll dive deeper into the relationship between Dicky and Tony along with Tony’s relation with Christopher.

These aspects of the plot mean that this prequel will be very unlike El-Camino: A Breaking Bad Movie. El-Camino merely gave closure to an already wonderful saga and did dive deep into many plot elements of the show. So far, it doesn’t seem like that will be the case with The Many Saints of Newark. This means that the fans can happily expect a pleasant trip to the cinema on the 25th of September.