The success ofThe Many Saints of Newarkand the renewed interest it has brought toThe Sopranosseries as a whole meant that it was not going to be too long before word of more stories based on the life of Tony Soprano began to circulate, and it look like WarnerMedia are setting about making that a reality sooner rather than later withTheSopranoscreator David Chase in talks to create a new series that will act as both a prequel to the original and a sequel to the movie.Michael Gandolfini took over his father’s role as a younger version of Tony SopranoinThe Many Saints of Newark, but whether the iconic mafia man will appear in the new series is unclear.
Speaking in an interview withDeadline, WarnerMedia Studios and Networks CEO Ann Sarnoff said…
“We’re talking to David about a new series,Sopranosrelated, on HBO Max. You seeThe Sopranospop into the top ten of viewed series on the service and it’s given it an entirely new life. It’s literally lifted all ofThe Sopranosfranchise in a new way. you’re able to’t measure just by the box office.”
David Chase has recently signed a five year deal with the company to exclusively produce work for HBO, HBO Max and Warner Bros. Pictures, so returning toThe Sopranoswould seem like an obvious choice given the current boom in viewers and popularity of the show. “There’s only one way that I would do it, and that was if Terry [Winter] and I could write the script together,” Chase said, echoing sentiments made by Winter in a previous interview. “That I would do.”
Back in early September Terrence Winter also expressed interest in continuing the saga ofThe Sopranos, but only if Chase was involved. The more that people talk about another series based on the family or at least the world they inhabit, the more it seems like there is no one involved that doesn’t want to see it happen.
“This is very flattering,” said Winter in September. “I absolutely loved the movie, and I’ve seen it a couple of times. I was really on the fence about whether David should even do it. You know, let’s leave it alone. But the more he told me about his ideas, obviously it couldn’t be in better hands than David and Alan Taylor. I knew it would be good, I just didn’t know how much I was going to love it. To me, it felt like the show tonally, like it was the show, but not the show. It just felt light, tonally, like what we did. The cast was great and Alessandro Nivola was just incredible. Seeing Michael Gandolfini, there were so many moments where he was his dad. Ray Liotta was great.”
“There are so many Easter eggs, that if you know what they are, you get rewarded for paying attention,” he said. “And if you didn’t catch them, that’s OK, it works as a freestanding movie. David and I have kicked around just how many stories there are that precede the TV series, and the idea of doing a sequel, if it comes to that, would be really great fun. And also the chance to work again with David, a dear friend and mentor. Just from that standpoint, it would be fantastic.”
The Many Saints of Newarkand all 86 episodes ofThe Sopranosare current available on HBO Max for fans to relive the story so far, while they wait of the almost sure confirmation there is more to come in the near future.
