Soprano’s Creator David Chase Inks Development Deal with Warner Media

More Stories on the Way from the DiMeo Crime Family?

Television

The drought of Sopranos content is coming to a close with today’s release of The Many Saints of Newark, and it’s not stopping there. David Chase, the creator of the best piece of media ever, The Sopranos, is signing a five-year, first-look deal. He’ll be creating shows for Warner Media (which owns HBO, the original home of The Sopranos, which ran from 1999 – 2007).

Under the deal, Chase will develop movies and shows for HBO, HBO Max, and Warner Bros. Pictures Group. The type of content Chase would be making is not explicitly detailed. However, it’s assumed that an expansion of the New Jersey-based DiMeo crime family would be on the table – next to the ziti, of course.

“David Chase is one of the most gifted storytellers working in the film and television industry. HBO has had a long and celebrated creative partnership with David, and this deal affords us a wonderful opportunity to continue this relationship at HBO and HBO Max,” said Casey Bloys, chief content officer at HBO and HBO Max. With the lone exception being Not Fade Away starring the late James Gandolfini, Chase has been dormant since the black screen closed out the final episode of the 86-episode masterpiece.

October 1st’s release of prequel The Many Saints of Newark has seen mixed reviews so far. The formative years of a teenage Tony Soprano (played by James Gandolfini’s son, Michael) and Richard “Dickie” Moltisanti’s (Alessandro Nivola) guidance. The film stars Ray Liotta, Leslie Odom Jr., Jon Bernthal, and Vera Farmiga as well.

According to the New York Post’s review, there are plenty of untold stories that made Tony Soprano the Mafia boss he eventually became. Without knowing exactly what Chase is thinking, it’s impossible to know for sure. After all, the man has created television perfection, so attention to detail will be critical. It’s still as watchable now as it was when it first aired 22 years ago. A vast majority of the original cast is still acting. But you are missing far too many vital parts (James, obviously), and it’s been over 14 years since filming has wrapped. Unless a sequel is set far into the future, that wouldn’t logically work out. For purely speculative reasons, outside of the obvious stories, of course, here are some interesting ideas:

• Learning how Paulie Walnuts decided on his hairstyle
• Understanding why Ralph Cifaretto had so much anger that would lead to him beating his 21-year-old stripper girlfriend to death; besides “A, she was a whore. B, she hit me.”
• How many races did Pie O My win?
• Did the Pine Barrens ever get developed?
• What happened to the gay club where Vito was caught?
• If he really tried, could Tony have become a varsity athlete?
• Did Ginny Sack ever get that 90-pound mole taken off her ass?

These are questions long-time fans have. Hopefully, this isn’t just a soulless cash-grab like many other properties have experienced. But this is David Chase’s legacy, his baby; it’s hard to see him vandalizing the world he worked so hard on for the better part of a decade. But he is crafty. The guy killed 16 Czechoslovakians; he was an interior decorator!