David Chase Doles Out Some Details About His Upcoming ‘Sopranos’ Prequel Movie

It's sad that HBO's The Sopranos is remembered best for having one of the most divisive and aggravating endings in television history. Series creator David Chase's notoriously cagey attitude toward it hasn't helped matters any, with him repeatedly denying that the abrupt cut to black was Tony being murdered—Chase, it's the only thing that makes sense, okay? Just stop talking about it.

Nevertheless, the series is still beloved by many, particularly anyone raised in and around North Jersey. If you had a father who wore a pinky ring, I'd say you and I love it doubly so. While any plans for the further adventures of Tony Soprano were permanently abandoned after the untimely death of James Gandolfini in 2013, a prequel film set in 1967 is indeed moving forward, and Chase recently talked with Deadline about the film titled The Many Saints of Newark.

“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,” he said. “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 organized crime, and I just got interested in mixing those two elements.”

“The movie will deal with the tensions between the blacks and whites at the time, and Tony Soprano will be part of this, but as a kid,” Chase added.

Okay, you had me up until kid Tony Soprano. Do we really need this? I mean really? Have we forgotten what happened when we had kid Darth Vader? If he basically functions like Michael in the prequel parts of Godfather II—"Michael, say goodbye"—I'll be fine with it. Otherwise, it's just gonna be a distraction.

Christ on a cracker, David Chase is the king of not understanding when to leave well enough alone.