‘The Many Saints of Newark’: 8 Sopranos Characters Who Will Appear in the Prequel

After months of pandemic-related delays, The Many Saints of Newark is almost here. The much-anticipated movie follows the early years of The Sopranos’ top mobster Tony Soprano (James Gandolfini). It opens in theaters and on HBO Max on Oct. 1. The film, set in the 1960s and 1970s, features a young Tony, as well as youthful versions of many other familiar characters from the show. So who can fans expect to see in the movie? Here are eight Sopranos characters we know will appear in The Many Saints of Newark.     

Tony Soprano 

In The Many Saints of Newark, we’ll see future DiMeo family boss Tony Soprano as both a child (played by William Ludwig) and a young man, when he’s portrayed by Gandolfini’s son Michael Gandolfini.

In an interview with CBS Sunday Morning, Michael Gandolfini spoke about the challenges of stepping into his late father’s iconic role. 

​​“If anything, my instinct was to give, in scenes, more of the Tony [fans] had known … I felt the pressure and I wanted to give them the Tony they had all seen,” he said. “But I had to remember to pull back too … I wanted people to accept this new version of Tony.” 

Livia Soprano

Tony’s tense, complicated relationship with his mother Livia Soprano (played by Nancy Marchand) was a major theme in The Sopranos. Fans should get a glimpse of the pair’s dynamic when Tony was a child and young man in The Many Saints of Newark, where Vera Farmiga plays Livia.  

Johnny Boy Soprano

Tony’s father Johnny Boy Soprano was dead by the time of the events depicted in The Sopranos, though the character was occasionally seen in flashbacks, where he was portrayed by Joseph Siravo. In the new movie, The Walking Dead’s Jon Bernthal steps into the role. His character is behind bars for much of his son’s adolescence, thus leading fellow mobster Dickie Moltisanti (Alessandro Nivola) to step up as father figure to young Tony. 

Corrado ‘Junior’ Soprano

Another Sopranos character we’ll see in the movie is Johnny Boy’s brother Corrado “Junior” Soprano (played by Dominic Chianese in the show). Uncle Junior was the DiMeo family boss for much of The Sopranos, though Tony was actually running things behind the scenes. The two have a complicated and often confrontational relationship, the origins of which we should see more of in Many Saints. Corey Stoll plays Uncle Junior in the movie.   

Janice Soprano 

In The Sopranos, Tony frequently clashed with his older sister Janice Soprano (Aida Turtorro). Mattea Conforti plays the character in Many Saints. 

Silvio Dante 

In The Sopranos, Silvio Dante is one of Tony’s most trusted advisors, eventually becoming his consigliere. Steven Van Zandt played the character in The Sopranos, but in Many Saints, John Magaro plays the role. 

“I will say that for those of us who had to play characters who were already established, that was a huge weight on our shoulders,” Magaro said in an interview with NME. “We know how much those characters mean to people. I think everyone who plays those characters really does a service, and I hope the fans don’t feel let down by that.”

Paulie ‘Walnuts’ Gualtieri

Tony Sirico played fan-favorite character Paulie “Walnuts” Gualtieri in The Sopranos. In The Many Saints of Newark, Billy Magnussen plays the man who would eventually become a brutal DiMeo family capo, 

Salvatore Bonpensiero

Salvatore “Big P****” Bonpensiero was another of Tony’s close associates. The Sopranos character was eventually killed after Tony discovered he’d been acting as an FBI informant. Vincent Pastore played the character in the HBO series. He’s portrayed by Samson Moeakiola in The Many Saints of Newark. 

The Many Saints of Newark is in theaters beginning Oct. 1. The movie will also stream on HBO Max, along with all episodes of The Sopranos.

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