Fans of the HBO series The Sopranos thought we'd seen the last of David Chase's world after the screen went black during the series finale years ago. Unfortunately, five years ago we lost Tony Soprano himself James Gandolfini, which seemed to have put any idea of continuing the series to bed. Instead, director Alan Taylor has been brought on board to adapt a prequel film to the show written by Chase. The series will show how the crime family came to be, and show many of the predecessors to the guys like Tony, Silvio, Paulie, and Christopher. Pretty much everything about the show has been kept tightly under wraps, but we now know at least one cast member he has joined in a key leading role.
Actor Alessandro Navoli best known for his work in movies like Face/Off, Selma, American Hustle, and The Wizard of Lies will star in the movie. Navoli will be playing the father of Christopher Moltisanti, who fans will remember was a key character and Tony Soprano's nephew in the show played by Michael Impereoli. Christopher's father Dickie has been mentioned several times in the show, as was killed off camera prior to the events of the series. Its believed he was killed by a police officer who Christopher eventually gets revenge on in Season 4.
Much in the same way as The Godfather: Part 2 told the story of a young Vito Corleone and how he rose to power and started his crime family, The Many Saints of Newark will hopefully give fans that same insight into the DiMeo family. Its expected characters such as Tony's mother, father, and Uncle Jun will all be a part of the movie but have yet to be cast. There's also been rumors the child versions of Tony and his crew will make in appearance, but this has yet to be confirmed.
Not much is known about the film's plot other then the fact that it takes place in the 1960s and will focus on tensions and riots between African-Americans and Italian in the Newark, New Jersey area at the time. In the coming months it'll be interesting to see who else joins Navoli on the project, and who will play the rumored roles of young Tony, Uncle Jun, Johnny Soprano, and Dickie's father Aldo Molstisanti.
So who would you like to see cast as the young Tony, Junior, and Johnny? Are you interested in seeing the history of DiMeo family on the big screen? Let us know below!
