Folks, I certainly hope you woke up this morning and got yourself a gun because we are so close to returning to the world of The Sopranos. A whopping 14 years after David Chase's groundbreaking HBO mafia drama cut to black for good, director Alan Taylor will debut The Many Saints of Newark, a prequel film set against the backdrop of the 1967 race riots that took place in the titular New Jersey city. With Chase himself on board as a producer and a script by Lawrence Konner (Boardwalk Empire), The Many Saints of Newark aims to tell the story of a young Anthony Soprano—played by the late, great James Gandolfini's real-life son, Michael Gandolfini—navigating the all-powerful DiMeo crime family’s rivalries with emerging powers in the increasingly fractured city.
It's a huge undertaking to ask audiences to trust a return to this world so long after the finale, much less with a massive ensemble cast mostly playing characters we only ever heard about in passing. So, to calm your nerves, we’ve put together everything we know so far about The Many Saints of Newark, from the plot and casting details to updates on a trailer and a release date.
'The Many Saints of Newark' Trailer
On June 29, HBO released the official trailer for The Many Saints of Newark, which gave off more of an action-packed gangster epic vibe than the original series, which was deeply meditative in-between all those whackings. Of course, you gotta' sell the movie to a broader audience and sell it as The Sopranos related, so trust we're not getting the full picture here. Check out the trailer above.
When Is 'The Many Saints of Newark' Release Date?
The Many Saints of Newark is set to hit theaters on October 1, 2021. Because of the pandemic-inspired release strategy Warner Bros. set for this year, the film will also be available to stream for 30 days on HBO Max starting that same day.
Who Is In 'The Many Saints of Newark' Cast?
Besides Michael Gandolfini filling his father's shoes, The Many Saints of Newark boasts a genuinely stacked cast of big names and character actors, many of which are staples of the crime genre. The cast includes Alessandro Nivola, Leslie Odom Jr., Jon Bernthal, Corey Stoll, Billy Magnussen, Michaela De Rossi, Germar Terrell Gardner, John Magaro, Ray Liotta, and Vera Farmiga.
Who Are the Confirmed Characters in 'The Many Saints of Newark'?
As we've mentioned a few times, Michael Gandolfini will play Tony Soprano as a teenager, decades before he became the ruthless crime boss he was in The Sopranos. The sprawling story of The Many Saints of Newark centers around the impressionable younger Tony first being introduced to the temptations—and dangers—of organized crime. In a recent interview, Gandolfini spoke to the way he's playing this character at this stage in his life, as well as how his performance links to his father.
“You know, I didn’t want to put pressure on myself to walk out of this feeling like I’d grown in terms of my feelings towards my dad...I just wanted to be the best actor I could be, portraying Tony in the way David wanted, scene by scene. I didn’t think about my grief because… well, I would have s**t the bed...His curiosity and sensitivity come first. He’s not a gun-wielding gangster. He’s a kid who gets whittled down and pulled in.”
Alessandro Nivola (The Art of Self-Defense) will play Dickie Moltisanti, the father of The Sopranos character Christopher Moltisanti (Michael Imperioli). In the original show, Tony often mentioned Dickie as a hero, role model, and somewhat of a father figure; The Many Saints of Newark will show the ways in which Dickie's life of crime drew Tony in alongside him. In an interview with EW, Nivola praised the way the film is both an origin story for Tony and a full arc of a character we've never met.
“What David did was to tell an origin story of Tony Soprano through a character that was dead before the series and that is such a surprising way of going about it. And the late-’60s mob movie is the stuff of dreams. Everyone was at the top of their game. The only infuriating thing is how long we have to wait.”
Jon Bernthal (The Punisher) will play Johnny Soprano, Tony's father and a capo in the DiMeo crime family.
Vera Farmiga (The Conjuring) will play a younger version of Lidia Soprano, Tony's mother, who was played by Nancy Marchand in The Sopranos.
Corey Stoll (House of Cards) will play a younger version of Junior Soprano, the character played by Dominic Chianese in The Sopranos. Tony's uncle, he was equal parts antagonist and ally in The Sopranos, in which he was the head of the DiMeo crime family. The Many Saints of Newark will see Stoll's Junior as a mid-level member of the crew.
Billy Magnussen (Game Night) will play a younger version of Paul "Paulie Walnuts" Gualtieri, the character played by Tony Sirico in The Sopranos.
Leslie Odom Jr. (One Night In Miami) plays a character named Harold McBrayer. "I work for the family," he explained, cryptically.
When Is 'The Many Saints of Newark' Set?
The Many Saints of Newark is set in 1967, a time of political and civil unrest, in which the race riot that took place in Newark was just one of 159 across the country in what later was called "The Long Hot Summer of 1967." In a recent interview, David Chase noted how the creative process on The Many Saints of Newark was fueled by his own experience as a young man in Newark at the time, seeing—and emphasizing with—the unrest.
“I remember some friends of mine saying — I was 22 years old at that time — ‘I hope they burned the place down,'” he told THR. “It was bad. Newark — it was bad. To see Black people living that way, it was bad.”
What Is 'The Many Saints of Newark' Plot?
Here is the official synopsis for The Many Saints of Newark, courtesy of HBO:
Young Anthony Soprano is growing up in one of the most tumultuous eras in Newark’s history, becoming a man just as rival gangsters begin to rise up and challenge the all-powerful DiMeo crime family’s hold over the increasingly race-torn city. Caught up in the changing times is the uncle he idolizes, Dickie Moltisanti, who struggles to manage both his professional and personal responsibilities—and whose influence over his impressionable nephew will help make the teenager into the all-powerful mob boss we’ll later come to know: Tony Soprano.
HBO's official release notes that The Many Saints of Newark is "a gangster epic for all audiences - whether you are familiar with the series or not," further elaborating on the story:
"This is the intriguing story of Tony Soprano’s early years, explored through his relationship with his mobster uncle, Dickie Moltisanti -- a man who would steer Tony toward the underworld life, despite his best intentions to the contrary."