If you are a devoted binger of The Sopranos, or if you watched the final episode air live in June 2007, you must see the trailer for the upcoming David Chase movie The Many Saints of Newark. Opening with James Gandolfini (the original Tony Soprano) talking about what it was like for him growing up, the trailer sets an anticipatory tone for what we can expect come October 1, 2021, when it releases both in theaters and on HBO Max.
The Many Saints of Newark has the potential to be an absolutely fantastic film that can follow in the footsteps of the one-of-a-kind, industry-paving phenomenon that is The Sopranos. Written and produced by David Chase (creator of The Sopranos), this new movie will be set in the tempestuous city of Newark, New Jersey, during dynamic times involving the Italian mob and its entanglements. The movie will star both characters that are in The Sopranos and those mentioned as having a significant role before the setting of the show, with a completely different cast.
The cast spotlights an impressionable, teenage Tony Soprano, played by Michael Gandolfini, who is the late James Gandolfini’s son. In addition, Tony’s favorite uncle, Dickie Moltisanti (Chris Moltisanti’s alcoholic father), who was talked about a great deal throughout The Sopranos, is another main character that will appear on screen for the first time. We can expect Dickie Moltisanti to be mysteriously killed in the movie, as this was touched upon in the show numerous times. Also featured are other Sopranos favorites, played by different actors, including Paulie Gaultieri, Silvio Dante, Uncle Junior Soprano, and both of Tony’s parents (Livia and Johnny Boy).
All we really have of the film so far is the cast and a two-and-a-half-minute trailer that was released in late June. Nonetheless, I think David Chase did many things right already. For starters, he got James Gandolfini’s son to play a young Tony Soprano. This is super cool and can have profound significance to Sopranos fanatics when they see a face that resembles Tony’s younger self. Additionally, Chase and his crew appear to have done a great job portraying the expected time period (1967) based on the clothes, hair styles, and props seen in the trailer.
The Sopranos changed the entire television industry with Tony Soprano as an anti-hero defying the axiom of good, but I’m not sure we can expect the same sovereignty from The Many Saints of Newark. Will it be the next Godfather? Who knows. The 1972 Al Pacino classic about the Corleone crime family in New York was mentioned in The Sopranos countlessly as the greatest movie of all time, and I’m sure many Sopranos-lovers would concur. To me, there have been so many great mafia movies, with standouts such as the Godfathers Trilogy, Goodfellas, Casino, and Scarface. These movies established a historic tone that captured the darkness and absurdity of the life we envision for people in the mafia. I hope The Many Saints of Newark will attempt to recreate some of this mobster aura, although I think it will be more similar to the award-winning show.
I am truly excited for this release. I don’t think it can be as groundbreaking as The Sopranos was back in the day, but it definitely won’t be overlooked. I hope you will watch along with me in October, and let your friends know on BingeRoom whether the film lives up to expectations or not!
