The Sopranos prequel movie continues to heat up, as two new cast members have been added to the growing ensemble. Series creator David Chase is heavily involved in the movie, officially titled The Many Saints of Newark, which has been coming together behind the scenes since last year and now appears to be speeding toward production in the relatively near future. Now, we have word that both Corey Stoll and Billy Magnussen have boarded the cast.
According to a new report, Corey Stoll (Ant-Man, First Man) and Billy Magnussen (Game Night, Aladdin) have signed on to star in The Many Saints of Newark, but the nature of their roles hasn’t been disclosed as of this time. Stoll has been very busy over the last handful of years and this marks yet another high-profile project. For Magnussen, his star power has been on the rise and this is sure to help. Details on the movie are largely being kept under wraps. However, we do know that the story will take place during the famous race riots that took place in Newark during the 1960s. The Sopranos occasionally flashed back to this period of time, but it was never truly explored in the series and there is an awful lot of meat on those bones. Especially the way the cast is shaping up.
In addition to Corey Stoll and Billy Magnussen, we also recently learned that Jon Bernthal (The Punisher, Baby Driver) and Vera Farmiga (The Conjuring, Bates Motel) have signed on for the movie. Their roles also haven’t been disclosed yet. However, we do know that David Chase personally selected Alessandro Nivola (A Most Violent Year, Jurassic Park III), to play the part of Dickie Moltisanti, the father of Michael Imperioli’s character Christopher Moltisanti. Chase also personally revealed not long ago that a young Tony Soprano will be featured in the movie, though, the actor who has to fill those very big shoes has yet to be cast.
Related: Sopranos Prequel Movie Gets Thor 2 Director Alan Taylor
David Chase penned the screenplay for The Many Saints of Newark alongside Lawrence Konner, who is also working on the project as a producer. Even though Chase isn’t directing, he’s producing, writing and working on casting, so he’s there to make sure this will do right by fans of the series, which recently celebrated its 20th anniversary. Nicole Lambert and Marcus Viscidi are on board as executive producers.
Alan Taylor, who previously helmed Thor: The Dark World and Terminator: Genisys, as well as several key episodes of The Sopranos, is in the director’s chair. There is no word currently on when production is expected to begin, but with casting taking place, it should be getting underway within the coming months. If that’s the case, we should expect to see The Many Saints of Newark in theaters some time in 2020, assuming all goes well. We’ll be sure to keep you posted as any further details on the project are made available. This news was first reported by Variety.
