Later this year, “The Many Saints of Newark” – the anticipated prequel film to “The Sopranos” – will hit theaters and streaming, courtesy of HBO Max. However, little does anyone know there already was a pseudo-revival for “The Sopranos” back in 2010, three years after the series halted its run.
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As retold by ‘Sopranos’ star Edie Falco in The Athletic’s podcast episode “Shattered: Hope, Heartbreak and The New York Knicks,” the story goes something like this: In 2010, NBA superstar LeBron James’s contract with the Cleveland Cavaliers was ending, and every team in the league was, naturally, vying for his talent. The Knicks hatched a particularly curious plan in hopes to catch James’s attention and allure him to join the team in New York. The organization reportedly hired Tony Soprano actor James Gandolfini and co-star Edie Falco to produce a ‘Sopranos’ short film.
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Shot in Gandolfini’s New York apartment, with a brisk 10-minute runtime, the short revealed that Tony was indeed alive and safely in the witness protection program – seemingly putting to rest any confusion of the characters’ fates after the famously ambiguous finale.
In an interview for the podcast, Falco recalls the surreal and remarkably niche motivation behind the revival: “We got those requests all the time back then and [James] Gandolfini, he did nothing… And somehow, he agreed to this thing, which I was shocked by. I thought it was a prank when someone said he’s going to do it… [and then] there he was, dressed as Tony. He must have been a bigger basketball fan than I realized.”
Unfortunately for the Knicks, their strategy didn’t work out. LeBron James decided to sign with the Miami Heat, and, well, the rest is history. As for the short film, it’s apparently lost in some archive somewhere, as The Athletic podcast producers couldn’t seem to track it down.
Gandolfini’s son Michael will play a younger Tony Soprano in “The Many Saints of Newark.” The prequel is written by series creator and writer David Chase alongside Lawrence Konner, who also has brief writing credits on “The Sopranos.” The film, directed by Alan Taylor (“The Sopranos,” “Game of Thrones”), also stars Billy Magnussen, Vera Farmiga, Jon Bernthal, and Leslie Odom Jr., and will premiere on September 24th.