Explanation of the end of the prequel of “Sopranos”: what follows “Newark”?

Disclaimer: The following article covers plot details of the previous movie “The Sopranos” “The Many Saints of Newark”, including the ending. If you haven’t seen the movie, we suggest you check out our review or this feature on how the movie reinvented the characters and come back here after watching the movie.

Famous (or infamous) David Chase doesn’t like to tie things up with a bow.

As the creator and mastermind of HBO’s beloved crowd-pleaser series “The Sopranos,” Chase deliberately left some storylines ambiguous, and even after 86 hours of richly detailed storytelling, many questions were left unanswered. never been fully resolved.

Who Really Killed Christopher Moltisanti’s Father, Dickie? What happened to the lamp the FBI bugged after Meadow took her to college? The Russian gangster that Christopher and Paulie Walnuts chased into the woods in the classic episode “Pine Barrens” lived or died? And, more importantly, what ultimate fate awaited the Sopranos clan in the series finale when the screen is suddenly – and, for many, infuriating – blacked out?

We may never get answers to most of these lingering questions. But now, with the “Sopranos” prequel film “The Many Saints of Newark,” hitting theaters and HBO Max today, Chase has returned to the scene of the crime and filled at least a few key gaps, while also creating new potential avenues to explore in the future.

By the end of “The Many Saints of Newark” we have a clearer idea of ​​the forces that shaped young Tony (played by the late James Gandolfini’s son, Michael) and put him on the path of a lifetime. of crime.

But the film’s ending also leaves a few avenues that could be explored in the next chapters of the “Sopranos” saga – assuming Chase has an appetite to take it further. “The Many Saints of Newark” ends with a key death that leads to a symbolic passing of the torch.

And then, in the credits, we see that Harold McBrayer (Leslie Odom Jr.), a former partner turned rival of boss Dickie Moltisanti (Alessandro Nivola), is still working on the construction of the black criminal empire which threatens the domination of the Italians. . mafia.

Between the end of “The Many Saints of Newark” and the start of the “Sopranos” series lies a two-decade gap in which other stories could potentially be explored, from the war between black and Italian gangs to new forays. from Tony in Crime to his budding relationship with future wife Carmela (seen briefly in the film as his high school girlfriend).

But it remains to be seen which of these stories, if any, Chase will want to tell.

Many “Sopranos” fans – and maybe some HBO executives as well – would no doubt love to see the previous film kick off a new series focused on young Tony’s rise to power. But while working on the film, Chase was adamant it would be a one-time project, according to his production partner, Nicole Lambert.

“He was very, very opposed [to future ‘Sopranos’ installments]Lambert told The Times in August. “He was like, ‘One and done. Never do that again. ‘”

But speaking to The Times in August, Chase said that while he wasn’t interested in doing a prequel series, he had warmed up to the idea of ​​expanding the universe of the “Sopranos” a little further. .

“I wouldn’t do a series but I could do a sequel to this movie,” Chase said. “I would really like to work with [‘Sopranos’ executive producer and writer] Terence Winter again, the two of us together. If it were to work, it would be important. If it wasn’t, I’m not sure I would want to do all of this work myself. (While nothing has been officially defined, Winter has said he would welcome the prospect.)

With “The Sopranos” still a popular choice for the greatest TV series of all time, Lambert thinks there’s a lot of appetite among fans to justify plowing ahead.

“A lot of people who saw the movie said, ‘Please I want more,’” Lambert said. “I’m glad people want to see him again. Hopefully that means we’ve done our job.

Indeed, so rich and sprawling is the universe of “The Sopranos”, if diehard fans had what they wanted, even relatively minor characters would get a future spin in the limelight.

“Someone on Twitter said, ‘I’d watch hell out of a Rosalie Aprile origin story,’” Lambert said with a laugh. “I thought, ‘Yes, I would watch this movie! “”