Fans of The Sopranos had long been confident that we wouldn’t be getting more stories set in the world that David Chase created, and there were many reasons for this. Primarily, the sad death of star James Gandolfini made it impossible to have any kind of continuation – you don’t just recast a similar-age Tony Soprano – and Chase himself has said that he will not be continuing the story.
So while we will never know what came after that infamous and controversial fade to black, with no modern day stories set to be told, we are heading to the past to see how the stories of several of our favourite characters began, with The Many Saints of Newark.
Michael Gandolfini, the son of the late James, plays a much younger version of Tony than we saw in the six season run of the show. The movie sheds light on several characters that were mentioned in the original episodes and will also look at issues of the time, including riots.
But will this prequel be a one and done deal, or could we see a second trip to the murky past of the Soprano family?
Will there be a The Many Saints of Newark 2?
We initially thought that the prequel would be a one-time thing and that the likelihood of a return trip was slim, but that has all changed recently, and it would seem that The Many Saints of Newark 2 (or whatever it ends up being called) is indeed on the cards.
Director Alan Taylor revealed to THR that David Chase has indicated he is thinking about more stories and that a sequel is very much a possibility. Chase is not one to push ahead with something if he is not fully confident that he has a story worth telling, so we just need him to suss that out and it should be full systems go.
One consideration, of course, is how well the first film does at the box office. If it bombs, that could well factor into the decision to greenlight another. But even if it does not make as much as was initially predicted, a large part of that would be due to the fact that it is releasing on HBO Max in America the same day as it lands in cinemas, so a large part of the US audience will likely choose to just watch it from home – something Chase has made clear is a move he does not support.
So The Many Saints of Newark 2 is by no means confirmed but, as long as Chase can crack a decent story, we suspect the likelihood is strong that we will see the film announced sooner rather than later.
Here’s the trailer for the first film if you feel the need to watch it over and over as we do!
The Many Saints of Newark is in cinemas now. Looking for something else to watch? Check out our TV Guide to see what’s on tonight, or visit our Movies hub for the latest news and features.