With remakes and reboots becoming extremely popular today, it is not surprising that a prequel film about The Sopranos is arriving soon. It’s not uncommon for a reboot to be a critical failure either, as most of them simply don’t live up to the original. This may not be the case for this prequel though, as the official trailer for The Many Saints of Newark has been released and fans are hopeful, especially due to the fact that Michael Gandolfini, the real-life son of James Gandolfini, will be portraying the iconic role as young Tony.
The Sopranos debuted on HBO in 1999 and ran for six seasons. During its run, the show broke records, as it was nominated for an Emmy 111 times and won 21 primetime Emmys. Gandolfini unfortunately died from a heart attack in 2013, but won three Emmys for his role of Tony Soprano. Fans have been asking for a reboot for years, the most recent reunion being in 2020. The first trailer for The Many Saints of Newark was officially released and there are mainly positive reviews.
So what can fans expect? The trailer gives hints to fans that younger versions of characters including Uncle Junior, Paulie, Big Pussy, and Silvio will show up, as well as the surprising fact that young Tony Soprano is actually not going to be the main character of the prequel, but instead Christopher's dad Richard "Dickie" Moltisanti (Alessandro Nivola) will be. Dickie only appeared in a few episodes of The Sopranos and was killed by law enforcement officers, so it is intriguing to see how the film will be focusing so heavily on him. The film will be following Tony’s childhood, which was discussed in The Sopranos with a few flashbacks, so fans can finally see the truth about Tony’s youth.
The New Line Cinema and Warner Bros. Pictures movie will be released on HBO Max on October 1st. The film takes place in 1967 in Newark, New Jersey. The Many Saints of Newark will star Jon Bernthal as Giovanni “Johnny Boy” Soprano, Corey Stoll as Junior Soprano, Vera Farmiga as Tony’s mother Livia Soprano, Billy Magnussen as Paulie “Walnuts” Gualtieri, and John Magaro as Silvio Dante, as well as Leslie Odom Jr, Michaela De Rossi and Ray Liotta in unreleased roles.
The description for the film reads, “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.” Tony idolizes Dickie Moltisanti, whose influence over him is the reason he becomes the Mob man Tony Soprano that all fans know and love (or hate).
Will the film reveal unanswered questions from The Sopranos? Tony and his gang always talked about the “good old days” on the show so it’ll be interesting to see if those memories are as good as they were remembered. For example, in the original show, Tony claimed that he had an IQ of 136, which many fans laughed at. In the trailer for the film though, this question is answered, in which he does have a high IQ. This gives hope that there will be many more confirmations in The Many Saints of Newark, including how it will focus on Tony’s shifting priorities as he grows up.
In one scene in the trailer, Tony states he wants to stay in school, but is juxtaposed to another scene that highlights his anger issues that have been there since he was a kid. Almost right away, the trailer shows Tony beating up another kid who bothered him while he was making a phone call. There are also brand new characters being introduced that weren’t in The Sopranos, including an unnamed gang led by Harold McBrayer.
Should fans get excited for The Many Saints of Newark, or will it be like many other reboots in the past? Fans have been feening for any type of reunion or reboot; just last month a Skyrim fan brought characters from The Sopranos into the game. Many are hopeful for the film because original Sopranos members are on board. This includes creator David Chase, who wrote the film along with Lawrence Konner, as well as Sopranos veteran Alan Taylor being attached to direct.
The trailer opens with the tagline, “Legends aren’t born, they’re made,” and is expected to be more action-filled and gruesome than The Sopranos. It’s been nearly 14 years since the show came to an end, and this is the first Sopranos content since then. The film may not live up to fan’s expectations as they almost never do, but it will provide unanswered questions and a return to the infamous mob family.