'The Many Saints of Newark' Creator Addresses Surprise 'Sopranos' Cameo in Prequel
The Many Saints of Newark features a surprise Sopranos cameo, and now the show's creator has addressed the big reveal. For those unaware, The Many Saints of Newark is a Sopranos prequel film, taking place during the Newark riots in the 1960s. Fans of the iconic HBO series are in for a real treat when they finally check out the new film, as it features narration from one of the show's biggest stars. Spoilers ahead for The Many Saints of Newark.
Actor Michael Imperioli, who played Christopher Moltisanti on The Sopranos, reprises his beloved role as the Many Saints of Newark narrator. He does so from the beyond, in a manner of speaking, as Christopher died in Season 6 of the hit series. The plot of Many Saints focuses on Dickie Moltisanti, Christopher's father, who is played by Alessandro Nivola. "That was the maraschino cherry on top," Sopranos creator David Chase told NME of bringing Imperioli in to narrate the film as Christopher. "That was really nice. We first undertook it to clear up possible confusions and to help people understand where they were — where's Newark, who are the criminals, who's that guy, is that Silvio... we're getting a lot of that."
Chase then went on to confirm that having Imperioli narrate was actually not the original plan for Many Saints, something the film's director, Alan Taylor, actually revealed to the outlet earlier this month. Taylor explained that one idea they considered was having Edie Falco reprise her role as Carmela Soprano, at the start of Many Saints. "Not to give away too much but, when you make a movie you're not exactly sure the final shape it's going to be and we, believe it or not, shot a few things that included other cast members," Taylor told NME. "We had Edie come in and she dressed up as Carmela and we shot something with her and it wound up not being in the final movie but it was a great excuse to see her again."
Taylor added how she "so ridiculously talented and she's also one of these people who — and it seems to frequently be women — that manage to be perfect actors and also the sanest people you've ever met in your life. I think Frances McDormand is like that and Edie Falco has that same quality of being like a solid, good, sane person. It was good to see her again."
The Many Saints of Newark is now playing in theaters, and is available for streaming on HBO Max.