David Farnor | On 30, Jun 2021

Legends aren’t born. They’re made. That’s the ominous tagline accompanying The Many Saints of Newark, HBO’s long-awaited prequel to The Sopranos.

Written by series creator David Chase along with Lawrence Konner, with Alan Taylor at the helm, the set in the 1960s during the Newark riots. It follows young Anthony Soprano, who 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 nephew will help make the impressionable teenager into the all-powerful mob boss we’ll later come to know: Tony Soprano.

Alessandro Nivola (Disobedience), Leslie Odom Jr (Broadway’s Hamilton), Jon Bernthal (Baby Driver, The Wolf of Wall Street), Corey Stoll (First Man, Ant-Man), Michael Gandolfini (TV’s The Deuce), Billy Magnussen (Game Night, The Big Short), Michela De Rossi (Boys Cry, TV’s The Rats), John Magaro (The Finest Hours, Not Fade Away), Ray Liotta (TV’s Shades of Blue, Goodfellas) and Vera Farmiga (Up in the Air, The Conjuring films) will star. The film will be released in cinemas in the UK, although a date is yet to be confirmed. In the US, it will debut in cinemas and also be released on HBO Max on 1st October.

 

Alessandro Nivola lined up for The Sopranos movie

21st November 2018

Alessandro Nivola is being lined up for the lead role in the new movie spun off from The Sopranos.

With TV enjoying a golden age that’s given rise to long-running series spanning multiple years, studios are beginning to turn small screen hits into franchises. AMC has already found success with two spin-off prequel series, Fear The Walking Dead and Better Call Saul, and is now moving ahead with a movie continuing The Walking Dead through a string of zombie sequels. HBO, meanwhile, is bringing back Deadwood for a film and is looking to do the same for The Sopranos.

The movie is titled The Many Saints of Newark and written by series creator David Chase along with Lawrence Konner, with Alan Taylor at the helm. Plot details are scarce, but we know that it will be set in the 1960s during the Newark riots, and will feature a number of characters from The Sopranos in one guise or another. Now, the first of those pieces is being put into place, with Alessandro Nivola reportedly in talks to star as Dickey Moltisanti.

In HBO’s show, regarded by many as one of the best TV shows of all time, Moltisanti is Tony Soprano’s (James Gandolfini) dead uncle, the father of Christopher Moltisanti (Michael Imperioli). He was often referred to as a figure who helped turn their gang into the crime family that came to rule New Jersey.

Nivola, who most prominently co-starred with Sam Neill in Jurassic Park III, has long been an impressive supporting figure, in films such as You Were Never Really Here, Selma, Ginger & Rosa, Coco Before Chanel and American Hustle. He’s currently normined for Best Supporting Actor in Disobedience at the upcoming British Independent Film Awards. He’ll soon be seen in Weightless, The Art of Self Defence, Foreign Skies and The Red Sea Diving Resort.

The Sopranos, meanwhile, can be binged in full at the time of writing on pay-per-view VOD or on Sky Box Sets. Don’t have Sky? You can stream the whole thing on NOW, as part of a £7.99 monthly subscription, with a 7-day free trial. Find out more here.

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