The Sopranos Franchise’s Future Gets Optimistic Update From Writer
The Sopranos writer, Terence Winter, gives an optimistic update on the franchise's future and expresses interest in another project with David Chase.
The Sopranos writer, Terence Winter, gives a cautiously optimistic update on the future of the franchise. Winter wrote, directed, and produced The Sopranos from 2000 to 2007, working closely with the show’s creator, David Chase. The crime drama follows Tony Soprano (James Gandolfini), a mobster who finds himself in over his head as he attempts to balance leading a criminal organization and raising his family. The Sopranos received high critical acclaim and is perceived as one of the most well-written TV shows in history. It spurned a prequel film, The Many Saints of Newark, in 2021, but it is unclear if the franchise will continue further
In an interview with MovieMaker, Winter gave an optimistic update about potentially continuing The Sopranos franchise. He confirmed that he was interested in writing another story for the franchise with Chase. He also indicated that he won’t be pushing the project out of respect for Chase, but that he is ready if the opportunity does arise to continue the franchise. Check out his statement below:
No, not as of yet, but hopefully David’s still thinking about it. He knows anytime he wants to do it, I’m ready. You know, we’re very dear friends, I see him all the time. I don’t nudge him about it. If he’s ready, I’ll do it. If he’s not ready, I’ll respect that decision, too.
How The Sopranos Franchise Could Return
In the past, Chase expressed interest in potentially creating another prequel set in The Sopranos universe. Based on Winter’s statements, it seems Chase has continued thinking about this idea and that it still could become a reality. A prequel TV series or film would be the likeliest medium for The Sopranos franchise to return. While The Many Saints of Newark did not do well at the box office, it did receive mostly positive reviews and was a hit on HBO Max when it became available to stream.
The major question is whether the prequel would take the form of a TV series or a movie. Chase revealed that he had once been in talks to create a prequel TV series for HBO Max, given the streaming success of The Saints of Newark. However, he had expressed a desire to develop another film rather than a series. Meanwhile, HBO Max later also denied interest in a prequel series and stated that one was not being created. After all, it’s unlikely any series could live up to the iconic original series.
If The Sopranos franchise does return, it would likely be in the form of another prequel film. In addition to Winter, Michael Gandolfini, the son of the late James Gandolfini, has also expressed interest in reprising his role as young Tony Soprano. However, he indicated that he would only be interested in playing Tony in his 20s and further exploring the character’s youth. While a prequel film seems to be on the mind of HBO and Chase, The Sopranos franchise could find other ways to return, such as a spinoff series or sequel film. Such a project would be difficult to pull off, though, given that Chase wanted to preserve the ambiguous ending of the show’s finale. It is uncertain if The Sopranos franchise will expand further, however, as long as Winter and Chase keep thinking about a prequel project, there is still hope it will.
