Goodfellas meets The Sopranos. Yes!
“As far back as I can remember, I always wanted to be a gangster.” With those famous words, Martin Scorsese introduced us all to a bonafide gangster classic as the world met the main character in Goodfellas, Henry Hill.
Well, something similar could be said for the narrative approach that David Chase is taking in The Sopranos prequel film, The Many Saints of Newark, because, as mentioned previously, James Gandolfini’s own son, Michael, will be playing a younger version of Tony Soprano.
Granted, the future head of New Jersey’s most famous criminal empire probably won’t be the main character in Alan Taylor’s feature, but for fans of gangster films, the addition of Ray Liotta to the cast is a very exciting one.
Deadline have reported that Liotta is set to join Alessandro Nivola, Vera Farmiga, Jon Bernthal, Billy Magnussen, Corey Stoll, and Michael Gandolfini in The Many Saints of Newark.
With regards to the plot, the prequel is set in the era of the Newark riots in the 1960s, when African Americans and Italian Americans in the city were constantly fighting with each other. That clash escalated when it began to involve the gangsters of each group.
Speaking about the role, Liotta said: “I am thrilled to be working with David Chase and Alan Taylor on The Many Saints of Newark. David’s talent is unmatched and the directing of Alan Taylor makes this even more exciting. I respect them both immensely and look forward to making this special project with New Line.”
Of course, Liotta isn’t the first member of Goodfellas to become involved in The Sopranos – 27 actors in total have appeared in both with Lorraine Bracco, Michael Imperioli, Frank Vincent and Tony Sirico among the most famous faces.
However, the idea that the man who played Henry Hill will be returning to the gangster genre has made our excitement levels rise even further.
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