A Sopranos prequel movie has been in the works for a while, with series creator David Chase co-writing the script with Lawrence Konner about the era of the Newark riots in the 1960s, a period where African Americans and Italians were at each other’s throats, and a setting that allows for Sopranos characters to appear as their younger selves.
The project, titled The Many Saints Of Newark, has now found a director. Per The Wrap, Alan Taylor has signed on to direct the film. He has previously directed episodes of the show, including winning an Emmy in 2007 for Outstanding Directing for the episode “Kennedy and Heidi”.
Since then, he’s moved into more blockbuster fare, having directed Thor: The Dark World and Terminator Genisys, having surely gained a lot more experience and knowledge of Hollywood, making this a nice homecoming of sorts that brings him back to his roots and should allow the prequel to feel both like the show, but also very cinematic.
Now that Taylor is on board behind the camera, attention shifts to who will be in front of the camera. Can anyone fill the shoes of James Gandolfini as Tony Soprano? Or will the film eschew even attempting that and focus more on supporting characters?
We’ll wait for more script details to emerge, and possibly some casting news, but The Many Saints Of Newark is certainly going to be an intriguing project to track.
#Peace.Love.TheManySaintsOfNewark
