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'Sopranos' prequel movie has the working title 'Newark' and is set for 2020 release

The Sopranos (Credit: HBO)
The Sopranos (Credit: HBO)

The Sopranos prequel movie is set to commence under the working title of Newark, according to reports, and now has an official release date too.

Being made by New Line Cinema and penned by original series creator David Chase – and originally being called The Many Saints of Newark – it will hit screens on September 25, 2020, says The Wrap.

Read more: James Gandolfini’s son cast as the young Tony Soprano

Director Alan Taylor, who helmed nine episodes of the original series, including the devastating penultimate episode The Blue Comet, will be behind the camera.

Signed up for principal roles are Alessandro Nivola, Vera Farmiga, Ray Liotta, Jon Bernthal, Corey Stoll, Billy Magnussen, John Magaro, and Michael Gandolfini.

Michael Gandolfini (Credit: Charles Sykes/Invision/AP)
Michael Gandolfini (Credit: Charles Sykes/Invision/AP)

Michael Gandolfini is the son of the late James Gandolfini, who played Tony Soprano in the HBO series, and who died in 2013 following a heart attack while on holiday in Sicily.

He will play the young Tony Soprano in the movie, which is set in the 1960s.

The action will play out during the Newark riots in New Jersey, when five days of violence erupted after a white police officers beat up a black man.

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26 people died in the ensuing riots, and 700 were injured, with African-American and Italian-American gangs clashing.

Nivola, who is married to British actress Emily Mortimer, will play Dickie Moltisanti in the film, often referred to – but never seen – in the original TV series.

Dickie was the late father of Michael Imperioli’s Christopher Moltisanti, and a mentor to the teenage Tony Soprano.