The Sopranos prequel The Many Saints of Newark is now officially titled Newark and it will hit theaters on September 25th, 2020. The release date puts the prequel in prime time for awards season and it will more than likely get a fall premiere at either Telluride or the Toronto International Film Festival. The movie was previously called The Many Saints of Newark, but they have decided against the lengthy title in favor of the simpler Newark, which keeps it in with The Sopranos style.
The Sopranos creator David Chase wrote Newark after initially being against the idea of revisiting the franchise for years. It wasn’t until he was thinking back to his own childhood in Newark, New Jersey that he started to get the ideas for the prequel. Alan Taylor, who directed several episodes of the original series is back on board to helm the prequel, which has fans excited to see where members of the original team are going to take the big screen project.
Back when David Chase was talking about his idea for Newark, he revealed that he used to enjoy going down to Newark, New Jersey on Saturday evenings to eat dinner with his grandparents every weekend. When thinking about his own childhood, it got him thinking about what life was like during the riots between the Italian Americans and African Americans during the 1960s and how that could have effected a young Tony Soprano. This is the backdrop for the prequel. Chase explains.
“But the thing that interested me most was Tony’s boyhood. I was interested in exploring that…The movie will deal with the tensions between the blacks and whites at the time, and Tony Soprano will be part of this, but as a kid.”
Newark stars Alesandro Nivola, Vera Farmiga, Ray Liotta, Jon Bernthal, Corey Stoll, Billy Magnussen, John Magaro, and Michael Gandolfini. Gandolfini is playing the younger version of Tony Soprano, a role his late father James Gandolfini made iconic. The hype is strong for the prequel, which will go back to the roots of the beloved series and include some pivotal moments that made Tony Soprano the legendary character that he is. With an awards season release date, we could see The Sopranos prequel earn some Academy Award nominations.
Related: The Sopranos Prequel Movie Gets Alessandro Nivola as Dickey Moltisanti
During its original run, The Sopranos earned 21 Emmys and 5 Golden Globes, so it would be fitting to see some Academy Awards thrown in for good measure. HBO also has the Deadwood movie on the way, but that will only be available through the network. Newark is going to hit theaters and could end up making a pretty big dent at the box office. We still have well over a year before the prequel hits theaters, but we should get some behind-the-scenes photos in the coming months before a teaser trailer drops. The Newark name change and release date information was first reported by Deadline.
