‘Sopranos’ prequel will feature James Gandolfini’s son

James Gandolfini, the original Tony Soprano from the hit TV series “The Sopranos”. Image: AFP/Lucy Nicholson

The son of “The Sopranos” lead James Gandolfini, Michael, is to play a young version of future crime boss Tony Soprano in “The Many Saints of Newark”, a prequel movie set three decades before its predecessor.

Michael Gandolfini’s biggest feature film role to date could be as a younger version of his father’s character from the late 1990s and early 2000s hit TV series “The Sopranos”.

He has been announced as Tony Soprano, future crime family head, in “The Many Saints of Newark”, set around the time of the 1967 Newark Riots and as a result is expected to focus on warring factions as racial tensions rise in New Jersey.

Also connected to the production are Alessandro Nivola (“American Hustle”, “A Most Violent Year”), Vera Farmiga (“The Conjuring” franchise, “The Departed”), Corey Stoll (“House of Cards”, “Ant-Man”) and Jon Bernthal (“The Punisher”, “Mob City”, “The Wolf of Wall Street”).

Alan Taylor of “The Sopranos”, “Boardwalk Empire”, “Game of Thrones” and “Mad Men”, as well as feature films “Thor: The Dark World” and “Terminator Genisys” is to direct from a script written by “The Sopranos” creator David Chase and series writer Lawrence Konner.

Michael Gandolfini played a supporting role in HBO’s 2018 crime drama series “The Deuce”, popped up in heist comedy “Ocean’s Eight”, and is part of the extended cast of 2019 family film “The Boy, the Dog and the Clown”. JB

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