‘Sopranos’ Prequel ‘The Many Saints of Newark’ to Debut on HBO Max
You won’t need to head to the movie theater to see The Many Saints of Newark. The much-anticipated Sopranos prequel will debut on HBO Max the same day it opens in theaters, Warner Media announced Dec. 3. It’s one of more than a dozen new releases that will be immediately available to watch on the streaming service in 2021.
‘The Many Saints of Newark’ is due out on March 12, 2021
Originally scheduled to hit theaters in September 2020, Warner Bros. pushed The Many Saints of Newark release date to March 12, 2021, due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. While that date is still subject to change, as of now, it sounds like fans will be able to watch the film — which stars James Gandolfini’s son Michael Gandolfini as a young Tony Soprano — sometime in March.
According to WarnerMedia, The Many Saints of Newark and other 2021 releases will be available to stream for one month on HBO Max while also playing in theaters. After the one-month window ends, the movies will continue to play on the big screen as usual.
In addition to The Sopranos prequel, all of Warner Bros. other new releases through the end of next year will debut on HBO Max. That includes The Little Things, Judas and the Black Messiah, Tom & Jerry, Godzilla vs. Kong, Mortal Kombat, Those Who Wish Me Dead, The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It, In The Heights, Space Jam: A New Legacy, The Suicide Squad, Reminiscence, Malignant, Dune, King Richard, Cry Macho and Matrix 4. The studio had previously announced that Wonder Woman 1984 would be available to stream on Dec. 25.
What we know about ‘The Many Saints of Newark’
The Many Saints of Newark will be set during the 1967 Newark race riots and will feature younger versions of many familiar characters from The Sopranos.
In addition to Michael Gandolfini as the young future mob boss, the movie also stars Corey Stoll as Junior Soprano and Vera Farmiga as Tony’s mother Livia Soprano. Jon Bernthal plays Tony’s father Giovanni Frances “Johnny Boy” Soprano and Alessandro Nivola will portray Dickie Moltisanti, the father of Christopher Moltisanti (Michael Imperioli), from the original TV show. Jim Santangeli will play real-life Newark mayor Anthony Imperiale, according to NJ.com.
The movie was written by Sopranos creator David Chase and directed by Alan Taylor, who also directed multiple episodes of the series.
Michael Gandolfini talks about stepping into his dad James Gandolfini’s shoes
In an interview with Esquire published in September 2020, Michael Gandolfini spoke about what it was like to play the younger version of the character portrayed by his father, who died in 2013.
“The hardest part of this whole process was watching the show for the first time,” he said. ““It was an intense process. Because, as an actor, I had to watch this guy who created the role, to look for mannerisms, voice, all those things I would have to echo. But then I’d also be seeing my father … I started having crazy dreams. I had one where I auditioned for David [Chase] and I looked down at my hands, and they were my dad’s hands.”
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