We are just days away from being thrust back into the world of The Sopranos with The Many Saints of Newark. The prequel to the HBO series features the return of many iconic characters, albeit younger versions of them, but most of the attention has been focused on Tony Soprano. Michael Gandolfini plays a teenage version of Tony Soprano, the role made famous by his late father, James Gandolfini.
There have been rumblings that The Many Saints of Newark could spawn a sequel, and that’s something Michael Gandolfini is ready for. The actor spoke with Uproxx to confirm that he would love to return for more but that there’s a very natural endpoint for him to stop playing Tony Soprano.
This is such an incredible character and incredible group of actors and incredible filmmakers that I learned so much. This is going to jump to the priority to get to work with David or anyone again. But I am not so much interested in playing 30-year-old Tony. I think it there’s an interesting part after this movie, before the show, that we can explore something about Tony that hasn’t been explored, in his youth, in his 20s. After that, we’re getting a little too old. My dad really explored and David explored everything about that. So is there a time limit around other movies? No, not so much. But the older I get, there is a cutoff where it just naturally goes into the show.
Will Michael Gandolfini get to play Tony Soprano again? Well, I suppose that all depends on how well The Many Saints of Newark is received. The Sopranos creator David Chase, who also wrote the prequel, has previously said that he would also return if he could co-write the script with former Sopranos writer Terence Winter. In response, Winter said that he would do it “in a heartbeat. Absolutely.“
The official synopsis for The Many Saints of Newark:
Young Anthony Soprano is growing up in one of the most tumultuous eras in Newark’s history, becoming a man just as rival gangsters begin to rise up and challenge the all-powerful DiMeo crime family’s hold over the increasingly race-torn city. Caught up in the changing times is the uncle he idolizes, Dickie Moltisanti, who struggles to manage both his professional and personal responsibilities—and whose influence over his impressionable nephew will help make the teenager into the all-powerful mob boss we’ll later come to know: Tony Soprano.
The Many Saints of Newark will debut in theaters and on HBO Max on October 1, 2021, so be sure to check out a review from our own Chris Bumbray.