Sopranos fans across the world reacted with shock and joy last week when it was announced that a prequel movie to the seminal HBO series was currently in the works.
Shock, because viewers of “The Sopranos,” which came to an end back in 2007, never expected to see any more tales from this world, especially when you consider its open ended and divisive conclusion and the death of its leading star James Gandolfini back in June, 2013.
Joy, because of creator and showrunner David Chase’s involvement in the movie, which immediately sparked hope that it will have the same tone and style of the show, which it is widely agreed sparked the golden generation of television that is still rife today.
I recently had the chance to talk to Steve Buscemi, who starred in “The Sopranos” as Tony Blundetto and also directed four episodes, including Pine Barrens, one of the most popular ever installments to the show, about his new film “Lean On Pete.”
Right at the end of our discussion I asked the beloved actor how he felt about the return of “The Sopranos,” and Buscemi only had positive things to say.
“I think it is great. There’s still a lot of material to be mined in these characters. I am very happy that David is involved. I am very excited about it.”
It remains to be seen exactly how “The Sopranos” prequel movie, which is tentatively entitled “The Many Saints Of Newark,” will tie into the original show.
According to Deadline it will be set in the era of the Newarks riots of the 1960s, when African-Americans and the Italians in the city were in dispute. This provoked the gangsters of each group to become particularly violent.
David Chase will produce the film, which he has co-written with Lawrence Konner, who previously wrote three episodes of “The Sopranos,” while it has already been revealed that previous characters from the show will appear.
Most likely that will be younger versions of Tony’s father “Johnny Boy” Soprano, his Uncle, Corrado “Junior” Soprano (Dominic Chianese) and his mother Livia Soprano (Nancy Marchand).
But there’s also a good chance that Sopranos associates Paulie Walnuts (Tony Sirico), Hesh Rabkin (Jerry Adler), Carmine Lupertazzi (Tony Lip) or Phil Leotardo (Frank Vincent) will appear in it, too.
We still have quite a while to wait before we find out exactly who is in the movie. But before then make sure to check out yet another sterling Steve Buscemi performance, this time in “Lean On Pete,” which is released on April 6.
