Fresh off his turn in the mafia prequel The Many Saints of Newark, Michael Gandolfini is tackling another iconic mob story — this time, as part of a biography series. Variety reports that the young star has joined the cast of The Offer, a new series for Paramount+ chronicling the making of The Godfather. Gandolfini joins the cast alongside Zack Schor, rounding out a cast that also includes Miles Teller, Matthew Goode, and Giovanni Ribisi.
Gandolfini boards the ten-episode series as Andy Calhoun, a savvy businessman on the hunt to buy Paramount, the studio that would go on to produce The Godfather and its respective sequels. He joins star Teller as Albert S. Ruddy, the Oscar-winning producer responsible for getting the 1972 film off the ground, and Schor as assistant director Fred Gallo. Goode and Ribisi star as Robert Evans and Joe Colombo, with additional stars Colin Hanks, Dan Fogler, and Juno Temple.
The Offer follows Gandolfini’s breakout success as a young Tony Soprano in Many Saints, succeeding his late father James Gandolfini for the origin story of the HBO mob boss. While the young actor pivots to telling a real-life story rather than a fictional one, the story of The Offer is no less interesting than that of The Sopranos, telling the tumultuous tale of adapting Mario Puzo’s novel for the screen, with multiple directors turning down potential offers and Paramount landing Puzo’s manuscript for less than $100,000.
Also starring Nora Arnezeder, Lou Ferrigno, and Burn Gorman, Ruddy himself serves as executive producer on The Offer alongside Teller and creator Michael Toklin. Nikki Toscano serves as writer and showrunner, with additional executive producers Leslie Greif and Dexter Fletcher, the latter of whom will direct the first block of episodes for the series. No production or release dates have been announced.