I'm surprised no one else has made a thread about this or posts news. Figured I'd make one for all official news.

Several casting announcements today:

https://variety.com/2019/film/news/jon-bernthal-vera-farmiga-sopranos-preque-new-line-1203102889/

Actors Jon Bernthal and Vera Farmiga were announced this morning. And:

https://variety.com/2019/film/news/sopranos-movie-corey-stoll-billy-magnussen-1203108158/

Corey Stoll and Billy Magnussen this afternoon.

No word yet on who they are playing but there is speculation in the internet that Farmiga and Bernthal may be playing Tony's parents.

Just throwing this out there: Corey Stoll as Uncle Junior? Only because he's bald. I could see Billy Magnussen, based on his looks, as a young Paulie. But who knows at this point.

The only confirmed character cast is Alessandro Nivola as Dickie Moltisante, presumably the title character. Moltisante is Many Saints in Italian.

Is it me or does John Bernthal a dead ringer for a Sonny Franzese?

https://www.bostonherald.com/2019/0...ast-as-tony-soprano-in-sopranos-movie-6/

James Gandolfini's son, Michael, to play young Tony Soprano

How is he in The Deuce?

I hope they know what they are doing and aren't casting him out of sentiment, or nepotism.

So they are going to fit all of this into one movie? I thought the story was going to take place when Tony was just a little kid. Gandolfini's kid is 19 so we're getting into the territory of where he was probably starting to get involved.I know they said that Tony killed Willie Overall at 24 and he (with Sil, Jackie Sr) robbed Feech's cardgame prior to that......I'm all for seeing anything we can get in the Sopranos Universe and trust Chase, but I hope they aren't spreading this thing a little too thin.

I just heard about this today and I'm really anxious to see it. Gandolfini's son in the role will be very touching. Do you guys know if this will be an HBO movie or a theater movie?




TIS

It's a theater release. Probably not till late 2019/20 at this point since they are still casting roles.

Then we all still stand a chance of getting cast.

Come on PEOPLE!

One of us should get in on this.

I guess they have come out with a trailer for it yet right?

They haven't started filming yet.

Let me re phrase my comment. MG's role in the Deuce is similar to AJ's role in the Sopranos. It's only a role.

His kid has grown into a very handsome man. Gandolfini would be proud.

Definitely 2020 at the earliest. Would love to see it ASAP but I also would like them to take as much time as they need to ensure that it reaches its fullest potential

I thought the same. I’ve seen pictures of him when he was a kid and he definitely grew up and lost some weight too. Good for him.

https://www.comingsoon.net/movies/news/1044961-ray-liotta-joins-sopranos-prequel

Ray Liotta has joined the cast. Interesting for two reasons: he's yet another actor from "Goodfellas" to have also appeared in the Sopranos universe, and also he was the first choice to play Tony Soprano. Wonder who he will play. Someone prominent, like the boss Old man Dimeo? Maybe the boss before that considering his age. Liotta is 65 now, and Dimeo was said to be 74 in 1999 and this takes place in 1967.

Nice, thanks e

Liotta's playing someone based on Sam The Plumber. His age is just right.

I hope Liotta's playing a young Murf Lupo.

Hopefully he'll keep Jr away from the loose change in his coat this time. Haha.

I like when he was trying to sneak out and Junior caught him. It's too bad we didn't see more of old Murf.

https://www.indiewire.com/2019/03/sopranos-prequel-movie-newark-release-date-1202051218/

Release date has been announced: September 25, 2020. And it has been re-titled to just "Newark."

Interestingly, if you look at the cast list on imdb, there are three new actors that I haven't seen announced in the news: Scotty Gelt, Chris LaPanta, and John Magaro. Magaro played Loco Lorna's "second" husband in "Orange is the New Black. He's in his mid 30s but could pass for mid to late 20s, which is about how old Paulie Walnuts would have been in 1967. We shall see.

Moltisanti means Many Saints, doesn't it? Since they dropped that part of the title I wonder if they changed the script.

i hope we will get some great music from that timeline !

Most of the stories I seen said it started out as "Newark" and then was changed to "Many Saints of Newark"

I kind of prefer "Many Saints.." TBH. Surely they can think of something better than "Newark"?

David Chase is obviously big on music. I'm guessing we'll see a lot of young Hesh, who's based on Morris Levy. This would be Hesh in the head cracking days.

Hesh barely got a word in edgewise on that reunion thing they did.

Jerry Adler (Hesh) just turned 90. It's tough to get words in edgewise at that age. Especially with shitfaced Lorraine Bracco on stage.

Does anyone else think this film would act as a backdoor pilot for a TV series if it does well?

Also, I really hope they don't recast Johnny Boy. Joseph Siravo was perfect. A perfect 1960s hood who actually did look like Victor Mature (as his mistress Fran said).

He was great as Tony's Dad, but he's probably too old to play that role again in the timeframe they're doing in this flick. Siravo is in his 60's now.....maybe around the same age as Johnny Boy was when he passed in the show. He should have been on the show more, he was good. Wonder who John Bernthal is going to play. He's got a good throwback tough guy look. Looks like Sonny Franzese.

Bernthal is likely to play Johnny Boy. Livia Soprano will be played by Vera Farmiga.

i wonder if we are we going to see young johnny sack ?
carmine lupertazzi ?
and more...

I got a feeling this film will Bomb.

I may need to watch it again but I didn't think much of Johnny Soprano in the Sopranos. The actor's portrayal seemed kind of cartoony and at odds with what was generally a very well-acted show.

It was like a performance you would see in a made-for-TV movie about the mob.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HLB2oXAxx88

He was good there above, and also, in a much more understated version of the character (portraying Johnny Boy as he was toward the end of his life, sickly and burnt out) starts at 4:05:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F8lBSvru2D4&t

the cars the clothes the music are all classic 60s
that's going to be so cool to watch ! ! !

also tony once told chrissy that his father single handed killed the new england crew
i wonder if we are going to see that...

Sopranos prequel gets underway as Alessandro Nivola and Michela De Rossi are spotted on day one of filming Newark

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowb...ichela-Rossi-spotted-day-one-Newark.html

Nice shot of Dickie Moltisanti in a suit. You can see the extras are in their 60s wear.

New images: Michael Gandolfini as teenager Tony, Jon Bernthal as (possibly) younger Paulie and David Chase on set.

https://m.imgur.com/a/58LJVEn

Jon Bernthal and Michael Gandolfini:

https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2019/04/10/11/12091042-6906837-image-a-99_1554892448674.jpg

Also: web rumor has it that the movie will take place over a course of few years: starting in 1968 and ending in 1974 (the year of Dickie’s death). We’ll definitely find out who really killed Dickie...

He looks the part of young Tony anyway. Hopefully he brings the same acting chops.

You beat me to it!

Bernthal's a bit too old for Paulie, who'd be in his mid-20s in 1967, going by Tony Sirico's age. The consensus on the web is he's playing Johnny Boy.

I've got John Magaro pegged as Paulie:

http://www.zimbio.com/photos/John+Magaro/Carol+America+Express+Gala+BFI+London+Film/CuC2fMIyjc0

Funny enough, here's Magaro and James Gandolfini together in David Chase's other film, "Not Fade Away." Imagine Paulie with that hair!

https://njmonthly.com/articles/jersey-living/from-hitmen-to-hitmakers/

- Livia (Vera Fermiga) and Giovanni (Jon Bernthal):



- Peter “Beansie” Gaeta will appear, portrayed by Spenser Granese:

i still can't believe we won't see the real sopranos ever again...
i wonder if this movie will be any good (will be hard to match the real sopranos...)

That's a wrap! 15 long months to go. Hope they stick with that "Sopranos" inspired logo!

https://www.nj.com/entertainment/20...-behind-the-scenes-photos-and-video.html

Alessandro Nivola teases Sopranos prequel film...


https://ew.com/movies/2019/07/12/sopranos-movie-many-saints-of-newark-alessandro-nivola/


I'm excited about this film. I think it's going to be great.

I was browsing the cast list on imdb for any updates on who's who, and one of the mystery characters will be played by Alexandra Intrator. Now if she's not playing a young Janice Soprano I will be flabbergasted. Uncanny resemblance to Aida Turturro.

am i the only one who excited more from the music we are going to get then the movie himself lol

A German Shepherd's shaved asshole won first prize.

There are men in the can better looking than her.

I'm thinking this film's timeline almost has to carry into the mid '70s and that's where we'll see Tony in his late teens. It would be very unlike Chase to betray the original timeline of the show. We've already visited Newark in the late '60s at the time of the riots when Tony, as a little boy, hid in the trunk of his Dad's car and followed him and Janice to the carnival/gambling operation. Just my opinion, but I think it betrays the original series if Tony is suddenly 17 years old here. That puts him at about Silvio's age (or at least Stevie Van Zandt's), and less than a decade younger than Paulie (Tony Sirico). Tony's age was clearly stated on more than one occasion on the show. He was a young boss (The Boy King in Feech's words). He would have been born in 1959 or 1960 (Gandolfini was born in 1961). Maybe it shouldn't bother me but I know it will (if that's indeed the case).

Fu----g Smokin!

I don't know about that, but the music of that time 60s and 70s and knowing the music taste of Chase it will def add something.

I think Chase is heavily influenced by Scorsese in the way he uses period pop music. Should be great.

Yep

‘Sopranos’ Prequel: Michael Imperioli Reacts to ‘The Many Saints of Newark’ – Exclusive
https://www.cheatsheet.com/entertai...he-many-saints-of-newark-exclusive.html/

They did fuck it up a little. Tony in the series was born in 1959. As such the segments with young Gandolfini playing Tony should take place in the middle to late 70s. They're set in 1971 instead, when Tony would've been 12.

Michael Gandolfini films additional scene:

https://pagesix.com/2020/03/12/mich...n-the-many-saints-of-newark-fight-scene/

This pretty much confirms Billy Magnussen as Paulie. The gray wings are just coming in.

You could look at James Gandolfini, or 95% of the main players in The Sopranos, and imagine that they would've fought in their younger days, or knew how to fight, but I don't get that impression from his son - not his fault growing up the son of a millionaire.

I'm not enamored with much of the casting TBH - barely anyone in this is ethnically Italian whereas virtually all of The Sopranos main cast was Italian - but I trust David Chase knows what he's doing.

Agreed, he looks a bit too soft. He needs toughening up! But he's probably playing Tony as a 14 year old or thereabouts, when Tony was transitioning from a "little fat kid" to an up and coming hoodlum.

Here's some more pics from the additional shooting. The blonde has gotta be young Carmela. Spittting image!

The one thing this movie could suffer from is a lack of great older actors. I get this feeling Sirico and those guys were the last generation that knew how to play these old mob guys. We'll see what kind of wiseguy Joey Coco Diaz plays.

That has got to be the infamous fight between Tony and Dominic Tedesco that made Carmela fall for T.

Doesn't look like it's in front of Pizza World and she doesn't look blown away, more like "Get awfffa him TONEEEEY!!!!" Maybe that's Mustang Sally's Dad and he put too many onions on T's sandwich or some shit.

The new release date for ‘The Many Saints Of Newark’ has been announced as March 12, 2021

https://www.yahoo.com/entertainment/batman-sopranos-movie-release-dates-173055591.html

I read somewhere else that they were doing re-shoots. That’s not always a good sign...

Why?

And this image

Wonder why Uncle June has a cane. And what are those guys eating? I was leaning toward Liotta possibly playing "Old Man DiMeo", but he'd be at the head of the table there and not Johnny Boy.....probably not right in the timeline of the show anyways as he was still alive when the show began as a guest of the government.

Did I read that they were cancelling this due to the Liberal Hollywierd types not wanting to inflame racial tensions during these "trying" times? What a load of shit if it's true...

F*ckin Koreans.

No, you didn't.

4 months out. Wonder when we can expect a trailer. The Batman's not coming out till 2022 and its already had two. o_O

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RdNYes6rutQ

Someone posted this in the youtube video above.

Jon Bernthal - Johnny boy Soprano
Corey Stoll - Junior Soprano
Vera Farmiga - Livia Soprano
Alessandro Nivola - Dickie Moltisanti
Ray Liotta - Aldo Moltisanti
John Magaro - Silvio Dante
Billy Magnussen - Paulie Gualtieri
Michela De Rossi - Giuseppina Bruno
Leslie Odom Jr. - Harold
Samson Moeakiola - Pussy Bonpensiero
Alexandra Intrator - Janice Soprano
Michael Gandolfini - Tony Soprano
Joey Diaz - Lino Bonpensiero

While it seems legit take it with a grain of salt.

This thread from 2018 has some info on Aldo Moltisante and Giuseppina Bruno:

https://forum.blu-ray.com/showthread.php?p=14830711

"Quote:
We can also reveal that filming on the Sopranos prequel is set to begin in early March of 2019, so casting announcements will be forthcoming over the next couple of months!

Young Tony

Of course it wouldn’t be a Sopranos project if Tony weren’t involved. The Many Saints of Newark will seemingly take place over the course of several years and the studio will be looking to cast multiple actors in the role of Tony. When the film begins, Tony is a first generation 9-year old boy with a passion for the Yankees. The film will follow Tony to age 16 where he is described as a “budding linebacker” with long hair and bellbottoms. According to Sopranos’ canon, Tony was born on August 24, 1959, so we can look forward to seeing the film take place between 1968 and 1975.

This setting would find Tony’s father, Johnny Boy, and his Uncle Junior in their primes working under Dominic DiMeo, the original Boss of the DiMeo Familiy that Tony eventually led. It would also take place near the death of a character that was the inciting factor for a key relationship of the original series…

Dickie Moltisanti

A foot solider for the DiMeo family, Dickie was a minor character in the series, but it was his death and subsequent absence that lead Tony to take in and mentor Dickie’s young son, Christopher. Dickie will be a young man here and while he’s not among the characters we have found out about, it’s almost a certainty that a young Christopher will be present here.

Canonically, Dickie is the first cousin to Tony’s wife, Carmela, and his wife, Joanne, is a Blundetto, making their son Christopher a cousin to the Blundettos, just as Tony is. After Dickie’s death, Tony took care of Christopher, calling him his nephew, though Christopher’s longtime girlfriend Adriana indicated that Christopher and Tony did have a blood relation. In this film, Dickie is described as Tony’s uncle, and a new character may reveal the blood connection described above.

Aldo Moltisanti

By all accounts Aldo Moltisanti is an entirely new character and, presumably, the link to the blood relation of Christopher and Tony. Described as an “elegant wiseguy” in his mid-60s, Aldo is revealed as Tony’s grandfather! The implications here could be huge. We know (or at least we think we do) that Tony’s father, Johnny Boy Soprano, was one of 3 sons born to Corrado and Mariangela Soprano. However, little information is known about the familial connections of Tony’s mother, Livia. In the film, Aldo is newly married to 24 year old Giuseppina Bruno, leaving us guessing as to whom he was previously married and what it might reveal, if anything, about Tony’s lineage.
Source."

Tony 1967, 1975, 1999.

And Tony and Artie.

https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/h...-the-emotional-many-saints-of-newark-set

Interview with John Magaro, confirmed to be playing Silvio Dante.

Check it out, james gandolfinis first role

https://youtu.be/ZYYTCgOhRkU

Motherfucker....

https://variety.com/2021/film/news/sopranos-many-saints-of-newark-release-date-delay-1234878777/

You knew this was coming, if they aren't done filming this gives Gandolfini Jr plenty of time to pack on the pounds - he is too skinny, he needs to look like a zeppole with legs, a walking heart attack like his old man.

Not on do they have to live up to a classic show, but now its postponed for a year. I smell disappointment coming.

It was coming because of Covid. This is NOT the only movie pushed back. Even Top Gun got pushed back as well as some other big movies.

Now the official date has been moved to 9/24/21

They also are renaming it to. " NEWARK".

Not much but a little piece of teaser footage is here. Hope its a sign of a trailer coming soon.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=8XyfAPb3yQQ

Not thrilled with the modern blue orange color timing. What's wrong with natural like the rest of the series? Tho that came out before all the blue-orange nonsense started.

I really hope not, but I fear you are right. It is hard not to have sky-high expectations for this movie. I am really hoping it doesn't disappoint.

If David Chase wasn't involved, my hopes would be minimal. I think it'll be fine, plus Chase has had an unprecedented opportunity to fine tune the hell out it should there have been anything wrong with the project.

For the third time... Only six more months to go!

https://www.ign.com/articles/dune-delayed-many-saints-of-newark

Delayed again! But this time only for a week. Now due October 1.

You know how long my brother's been on the waiting list for this movie? A motherfucking year.

This is one on my list.

Some of the plotlines later in the show tended to lag a little but Chase hit the finale out of the park, despite the criticism of the ending.

I still think Frank Renzulli was the best writer on the show. Season 2 felt like it has the best balance between mob stories and Tony's personal family, and it was mostly written by Renzulli. The Scatino storyline is probably my favorite.

My fear regarding Many Saints is that David Chase will do something like Not Fade Away and focus too much on what he's nostalgic for, but he's always treated the mob with a sense of cynicism on the show, which makes the story and dialogue more realistic and interesting, so I think he'll do it here, too.

Trailer looks good

Minor spoiler
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Sil wears a rug!

thanks !
yeah it really looks good !

Gandolfini's son is not a good actor.

The trailer is better than I expected.

I am also not convinced on Gandolfini's son in this role although i liked him in "Deuce"

i wonder if we are going to see richie aprile too in the movie

Looks great!!! Seems like they go back to familiar places. I guess we learn a lot more about the past of the Moltisantis and Sopranos.

Is Ray Liotta playing Ercole Dimeo in this movie?

Take it with a grain of salt, I read a while ago that Liotta was rumored to portray Alfano, one of the founders of the family along with Ercole DiMeo. Alfano was never mentioned in the series but he’s in the Sopranos History book by Chase.

On the "Talking Sopranos" podcast, Imperioli revealed that Liotta is playing "Hollywood" Dick Moltisanti, a previously unmentioned character, Dickie's father and Chris' grandfather. I think they are doing a bit of a retcon here with him and Livia being brother and sister as well. They still haven't said who Joey Diaz is playing, but I'm going to have to assume that he's Big Pussy's father or uncle, some relation. Young Puss is sitting next to Paulie in the car in the trailer too, btw.

Seeing as this has been correct on all counts so far, I guess this all but confirms Joey Diaz is playing Lino Bonpensiero. Not surprising. It's a heck of a resemblance!

The only unknown now is who Tony Lip's son is playing. Carmine Lupertazzi or his father? Fat Jerry Anastasia?

Well that’s interesting. I didn’t expect the series’ universe to be altered. Then I guess anything can happen. I just hope that we get to see some mob dynamics with new characters, and the racial clashes taking the back seat.

David Chase Has Some Ideas About Our Continued Sopranos Obsessions
A generation ago, the landmark show and its creator blew up our idea of TV. With a new movie prequel, The Many Saints of Newark, on the way this fall, the showrunner returns to the scene of the crime.

https://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/2021/07/david-chase-on-our-continued-sopranos-obsessions

A sequel could be in the works. Nothing official but Chase is considering it.

https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.in...el-more-sopranos-content-1234657664/amp/

looks great !

any idea whats with the black guy? hope his characters not just some forced Hollywood BS

After the movie chase is going to be making an HBO Show about the rise of Tony Soprano in the mob... basically a prequel series to The Sopranos....