Michael Gandolfini Wants To Explore Tony’s Family In Saints Of Newark 2

The Many Saints of Newark one has excited multiple fans already, who are looking forward to seeing Michael Gandolfini step in the shoes of his father, James Gandolfini.

For some critics, Michael does the job pretty well. As a prequel movie of acclaimed and groundbreaking HBO series The Sopranos, The Many Saints of Newark was a difficult challenge Michael passed through.

In August this year, Director Alan Taylor teased that writer David Chase was planning a sequel to the movie.

While no further detail about it has been released, Michael sat down with Screenrant for an interview and discussed what he’d like to see in the sequel.

Michael, who is playing the young Tony Soprano on his journey to become the infamous Soprano, believes Tony’s family plays a crucial role.

He especially wants the sequel to have a focus on Johnny Boy, Tony’s father, Jon Bernthalm, because he thinks “Tony might have more trauma with Johnny.” If fans remember, in the series, Tony never really opened up about his father, except talking about it on the surface once or twice. 

Definitely, an interesting take, read Michael’s complete statement below:

Well, I think there’s a clear transition after the movie and before the series. There’s so much; I’m really interested in Johnny. I feel like his absence is felt so much in this movie, which I think is really effective and good, because I think it’s what Tony feels. But I’m just interested in what Johnny’s take is on his son walking into the mob. Does he like it? Does he not? I’ve always found that so interesting. I always thought Livia is such a big part of Tony. But I almost think that Tony might have more trauma with Johnny, because he never talks about Johnny in therapy. He does a little bit, but he doesn’t go deep with him. So, I’ve always been interested in that.

Michael Gandolfini

What makes Michael’s statement more interesting is that fans have never fully known Johnny’s point of view. He has never once appeared in The Many Saints of Newark movie, but only in The Soprana. And that too, not as a character in the present but past.

The Many Saints of Newark is set in the 1960s and 70s and focuses on Tony Soprano’s pre-The Soprano times, when he basically was a normal teenager. In comparison, the show is set from the late 1980s to 2007. With a possible sequel, there’s plenty of room for directors or writers to pursue Michael’s ideas too.

However, even the sequel of Many Saints of Newark will only depend on the first movie’s streaming and box office performance, much like Dune.

Catch the young Michael Gandolfini play the young Tony, taking on his father, James Gandolfini’s iconic adult Tony Soprano.

The Many Saints of Newark will premier on October 1, 2021, in theaters and HBO Max.

About The Many Saints of Newark

The Many Saints of Newark is an upcoming prequel movie based on the groundbreaking HBO MAX series, The Sopranos. It is written by David Chase and Lawrence Konner, and is directed by Alan Taylor. The trio are also the producers of the movie.

The cast includes Michael Gandolfini playing the young Soprano, Alessandro Nivola playing Dickie Moltisanti, Leslie Odom Jr., Jon Bernthal, Corey Stoll, Ray Liotta, Vera Farmigo and more. In addition to them, the original Tony Soprano, played by James Gandolfini also appears in the movie, though via an archive audio.

The movie is set in the 1960s and 70s, focusing on the young Tony Soprano. He’s growing in one of the most struggling racial unrest times in Newark, with rival gangsters rising against the DiMeo crime family. During all this time, his uncle Dickie Moltisanti, whom the young Tony idolizes, leads him to the world of crime, leading him to become the infamous and all-famous mob boss, Tony Soprano of The Sopranos.

 

Source: Screenrant