THE MANY SAINTS OF NEWARK is an upcoming American crime drama directed by Alan Taylor and written by David Chase and Lawrence Konner as a prequel to Chase’s HBO crime drama series THE SOPRANOS. The film stars Alessandro Nivola as Dickie Moltisanti, Christopher’s father; Jon Bernthal as Giovanni “Johnny Boy” Soprano, Tony’s father; Corey Stoll as Corrado John “Junior” Soprano, also known as “Uncle June” in the series; Vera Farmiga as Livia Soprano, Tony’s mother. Also appearing is Billy Magnussen as Paulie “Walnuts” Gualtieri and John Magaro as Silvio Dante. But the one that every eye focuses on in the trailer is Michael Gandolfini as Anthony “Tony” Soprano. Don’t take my word for it, watch it below and tell me who is at the center of it all.
It only makes sense, right. We are drawn into the DiMeo crime family and all the capos, gumbas and thugs associated because we followed the story of Tony Soprano quite devoutly for six seasons, totaling 86 episodes. The trailer gripped me the moment I heard James Gandolfini’s voiceover. Then my mind started to reel as I thought back to the series trying to remember all the background of all the characters, but especially Tony. Hell, for that reason, I had to watch the trailer more than once. What do we remember about Jonny Boy and Uncle June? It is hard to recall it all just by catching glimpses of characters in the clip. The butcher shop, Satriale’s shows up and the expressions on young Michael’s face bring back strong images of his father in his now-iconic role. I don’t see that we will ever get to see what happened after the series’ finale blackout, so this prequel is going to be the completion of the Sopranos story and for that reason, I’m pulled back in quite easily. So, are you as eager to see this movie as I am?
The movie was held back due to the pandemic and now as a premiere date, in theaters and on HBO Max, for October 01, 2021. I’ll be watching. All it took to convince me was the voiceover, Michael G’s resemblance and “Woke Up This Mornin’.” Mark the calendar for 10.01.21.
