New Line Announces “Sopranos” Prequel: “The Many Saints of Newark”

The Sopranos Will Sing Again!

David Chase thought he was out, but now New Line Cinema is pulling him back in. The esteemed production company has officially announced that they’re currently working alongside the award-winning show-runner on “The Many Saints of Newark”, a feature-length prequel to HBO’s game-changing family crime drama, The Sopranos. Unfortunately, screenwriter and Tony Soprano protégé Christopher Moltisanti wasn’t . . . available to lend his talents, so Chase turned to former series writer Lawrence Konner to co-author the script.

“The Many Saints of Newark” has been described as a prequel to the series, taking place in 1960s New Jersey, and tackling the infamous riots and the violent clashes between African-Americans and Italians. New Line has teased that multiple “Sopranos” characters will be featured, but have remained mum. As we all know, snitches get stitches.

It’s been over a decade since the celebrated series cut to black. The Sopranos, which ran from 1999 to 2007, single-handedly set the bar for premium cable content. The show masterfully chronicled the daily, often brutally violent trials and tribulations of New Jersey mob boss Tony Soprano, played by the late, great James Gandolfini. The series featured a variety of colorful characters from Tony’s personal and “professional” life, including his wife Carmela, Uncle Junior, and the aforementioned Cousin Christopher. The show was showered in critical acclaim, raked in over 100 Emmy nominations (it won 21) and proved itself to be a pop culture behemoth that continues to be imitated to this day.

Toby Emmerich, Warner Bros. Pictures Group’s chairman, said thusly:

“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.”

Grab the prosciutt!

Are you stoked for the “Sopranos” prequel? What do you hope to see in David Chase’s film? Let us know!