‘The Many Saints of Newark’: 1 ‘The Sopranos’ Character Was Cut From the Movie
The Sopranos first aired in 1999. It ran for 86 episodes over the course of six seasons and made an incredible impression. The Many Saints of Newark is a prequel movie to The Sopranos. It’s set during the 1960s and the 1970s, with the Newark riots as the backdrop. Director Alan Taylor recently discussed one character from The Sopranos didn’t make the final cut of The Many Saints of Newark.
Some of ‘The Sopranos’ characters return for ‘The Many Saints of Newark’
The Many Saints of Newark features an array of both new and old characters. However, the cast includes some fresh faces, given that the movie is a prequel.
Tony Soprano is the most obvious character return, who’s played by Michael Gandolfini. He’s James Gandolfini’s son, who originally performed as Tony in the HBO show.
Corey Stoll plays Junior Soprano in The Many Saints of Newark. He would ultimately become Tony’s life mentor in the HBO series.
Vera Farmiga plays a younger version of Livia Soprano. This character went on to be the source of an abundance of emotional turmoil for Tony.
Jon Bernthal stars as Johnny Boy Soprano in The Many Saints of Newark. He’s Tony’s father, who appeared in several flashbacks in The Sopranos.
These are only some of the familiar names heard in The Many Saints of Newark. This allows the audience to develop a greater understanding of these characters and their world before the events of The Sopranos take place.
‘The Many Saints of Newark’ almost brought back ‘The Sopranos’ actor Edie Falco
Taylor recently discussed The Many Saints of Newark in an interview with NME. He revealed that another character from The Sopranos was supposed to be in the movie.
The Many Saints of Newark‘s opening scene was supposed to include Edie Falco reprising her role as Tony’s wife, Carmela. However, the scene didn’t make the final cut. He revealed that other cast members were also intended to return. Taylor said, “Not to give away too much but, when you make a movie you’re not exactly sure the final shape it’s going to be and we, believe it or not, shot a few things that included other cast members.”
Taylor praised Falco as an actor and as a human being, even though she didn’t end up making it into the finished movie in The Many Saints of Newark.
“We had Edie come in and she dressed up as Carmela and we shot something with her and it wound up not being in the final movie but it was a great excuse to see her again,” Taylor stated. “She’s so ridiculously talented and she’s also one of these people who – and it seems to frequently be women – that manage to be perfect actors and also the sanest people you’ve ever met in your life.”
He continued: “There was some confusion as to how best launch the movie. How to start the movie. So we tried a few things and that was one of them. If you’ve seen the movie you’ll see that we begin it in a very different way now but that wasn’t always the idea.”
Warner Bros. continues its HBO Max day-and-date releases
The coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic resulted in all of the Hollywood studios having to get creative with their distribution strategies. Some movie theaters had to close their doors. Many folks aren’t comfortable enough to get back to the theater. This affected many movies, including The Many Saints of Newark.
Warner Bros. moved its entire 2021 release slate to be day-and-date in theaters and on their streaming platform HBO Max. However, The Sopranos creator/writer David Chase was “extremely angry” that the movie would be put on HBO Max. He wanted The Many Saints of Newark to shed its television image for the prequel, but he had little control over the situation.
The Many Saints of Newark hits theaters and HBO Max on Oct. 1.
