UPDATE: “The Sopranos” prequel film from New Line Cinema and series creator David Chase has received a release date and the studio says the official title is “The Many Saints of Newark.”
The film, which was previously going with the working title “Newark,” will open in theaters on Sept. 25, 2020.
Alessandro Nivola, Vera Farmiga, Ray Liotta, Jon Bernthal, Corey Stoll, Billy Magnussen, John Magaro, and Michael Gandolfini star in the film directed by Alan Taylor and written and produced by David Chase and Lawrence Konner.
“Newark” is set in the 1960s during the Newark riots, five days of violence in the New Jersey city sparked by the beating of a black man by white police officers. It was especially lethal among African American and Italian American gangsters involved in the fighting — 26 people died and more than 700 people were injured during the riots.
More specifically, it follows the life of Dickie Moltisanti, a frequently mentioned character in “The Sopranos” but one who was never seen in the original series, including flashbacks.
Nivola is playing Moltisanti, and Gandolfini, the son of the late “Sopranos” star James Gandolfini, will star as a young Tony Soprano in the film.
Nicole Lambert, on behalf of Chase Films, and Marcus Viscidi are executive producing “Newark.”