Iconic TV character Tony Soprano is getting new life in the most fitting way.
During the Sopranos‘ original run from 1999 to 2007, Tony Soprano was played by James Gandolfini, who died in Italy at age 51 in 2013.
Now, his 19-year-old son Michael has been cast as the young Tony in the upcoming Sopranos prequel movie, The Many Saints of Newark.
Set in 1967 during the Newark riots (a five-day collective protest sparked by the beating of a black man by white police officers), the movie aims to tell the story of what it was like on the ground. Many African-Americans and Italian-American “gangsters” died during the riots, with the final tally of 26 people dead and more than 700 injured.
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While most details are under wraps, other cast members include Corey Stoll (House of Cards), Billy Magnussen (Into the Woods), Vera Farmiga (Up in the Air), Jon Bernthal (The Walking Dead) and Alessandro Nivola (The Wizard of Lies). Alan Taylor (Game of Thrones, Terminator Genisys, Boardwalk Empire) is set to direct the movie.
The younger Gandolfini is just starting to refine his acting chops, having appeared in another HBO series The Deuce and movie Ocean’s Eight.
For the role of Tony Soprano, James Gandolfini won three Emmys, one Golden Globe award and three SAG awards.
As of this writing, no release date for The Many Saints of Newark has been announced.
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