The hit HBO series The Sopranos (1999-2007), regarded by many as the best drama to ever air on television, is returning to a different kind of screen.
According to Deadline, David Chase, the show's creator, and Lawrence Konner, who worked on a few original episodes, wrote a prequel "set in the era of the Newark riots in the '60s. That was a time when the African-Americans and the Italians of Newark were at each other's throats, and amongst the gangsters of each group, those conflicts became especially lethal."
New Line Cinema—the studio that purchased the screenplay, whose working title is The Many Saints of Newark—announced that many familiar characters from the show will appear in the film.
Don't expect for Chase to be directing the prequel, though. According to a New York Times report, Chase will have a say in who will be directing the project, in addition to his producer title.
Of course, the feature won't help clarify the original show's rather controversial ending. What we do know is that, in the TV show, protagonist Tony Soprano (the now-gone James Gandolfini), was born in 1959. He would, as a result, be a young boy during the 1967 riots that are supposedly depicted in the prequel.
We'll be on our couch all weekend long, re-watching the entire series on HBO. Join us?