‘The Sopranos’ prequel will be released in September 2020.
New Line have confirmed their long-awaited movie will hit cinemas on September 25 next year and revealed its title has changed from ‘The Many Saints of Newark’ to simply ‘Newark’.
The movie will tell the tale of the origins of anti-hero Tony Soprano, who was played by the late James Gandolfini in the HBO series and will be portrayed by the actor’s son Michael in the film.
The story focuses on Dickie Moltisanti (Alessandro Nivola) as a mentor to young Tony as his own father, Johnny Boy, was grooming his son on a pathway to organised crime prominence.
Michael previously described his casting – which was secured after an extensive audition process – as a "profound honour".
He said: "It’s a profound honour to continue my dad’s legacy while stepping into the shoes of a young Tony Soprano. I’m thrilled that I’m going to have the opportunity to work with David Chase and the incredible company of talent he has assembled for ‘The Many Saints of Newark’."
Alessandro Nivola, Vera Farmiga, Jon Bernthal, Billy Magnussen and Corey Stoll all also star in the ensemble drama, which is being written and produced by ‘The Sopranos’ creator David Chase, and directed by Alan Taylor.
It was previously revealed there are expected to be call-backs and shout-outs to numerous other characters from the television series within the movie’s script.
Chase previously admitted he was "against" creating a spin-off for a "long time", but became interested in the idea when he explored the 1967 Newark riots which occurred when two Newark Police officers arrested and beat African American taxi driver John Smith and decided the real life event would provide the perfect backdrop for the plot and a look at Tony’s formative years.
He previously said: "I was interested in Newark and life in Newark at that time. I used to go to down there every Saturday night for dinner with my grandparents. But the thing that interested me most was Tony’s boyhood. I was interested in exploring that.
"I was against [the movie] for a long time and I’m still very worried about it, but I became interested in Newark, where my parents came from, and where the riots took place. I was living in suburban New Jersey at the time that happened, and my girlfriend was working in downtown Newark. I was just interested in the whole Newark riot thing. I started thinking about those events and organised crime, and I just got interested in mixing those two elements."
The Sopranos prequel gets release date
