THE SOPRANOS Prequel Film THE MANY SAINTS OF NEWARK Is Moving Forward and Christopher's Father Is Being Cast
David Chase is currently developing a prequel film to the hit HBO mob series The Sopranos. The movie is called The Many Saints of Newark, and Chase wrote the script for it.
The story for the prequel is set in the era of the Newark riots in the ‘60s. "That was a time when the African-Americans and the Italians of Newark were at each other’s throats, and amongst the gangsters of each group, those conflicts became especially lethal."
In case you were wondering, yes, some of the characters from the series will appear in the film. Obviously, they will be younger versions. It’s explained that "the time period indicates there will be room for Tony Soprano’s father, Giovanni ‘Johnny Boy,’ the former captain of the Soprano crew (played in flashbacks by Joseph Siravo), and a younger version of his wife Livia (played indelibly in the show’s first season by Nancy Marchand), and Tony’s uncle Junior, played by Dominic Chianese."
Now we are learning that Christopher Moltisanti’s (Michael Imperioli) father Dickey Moltisanti will be in the film, and according to Variety, Alessandro Nivola (The Neon Demon, A Most Violent Year) is in negotiations to play the character.
For those of you who don’t remember, Dickey was a part of the Soprano mob, and he was good friends with Tony Soprano. Dickey was killed in the 1970s when he was shot by a cop named Detective Lt. Barry Haydu.
Tony ended up helping Christopher locate Haydu years later so that Christopher could get revenge. The thing is, there was always some doubt that Haydu was actually Dickey’s killer.
Chase will serve as a producer on the project as well as a co-writer with Lawrence Konner, and he will be involved in selecting a director to helm the project.
Are you looking forward to seeing this Sopranos prequel? What do you think about the casting choice for Dickey Moltisanti?