The Sopranos: Director Alan Taylor explains why there will never be a sequel

Director Alan Taylor is gearing up to give us a prequel to The Sopranos as The Many Saints of Newark will hit theaters and HBO Max this fall. The film is highly anticipated by fans of the series and while a prequel felt like an idea that could be explored viably, Taylor reveals that a sequel series or movie to the hit show just can’t happen.

Speaking with “The Hollywood Reporter”, Taylor talked about The Many Saints of Newark and revealed why the film is a prequel and why a sequel was never really an option. Taylor said that Sopranos creator, David Chase, would have to “explain what happened in that room”, referring to the very last scene of The Sopranos finale that famously and abruptly cut to black. Years since the finale aired in 2007, fans still theorize about the ambiguous ending and Taylor believes that the cut to black indicates that Tony Soprano (James Gandolfini) is dead.

In the series finale episode, “Made in America”, the last few minutes show Tony meeting his family at a diner. The scene is strangely tense as Journey’s “Don’t Stop Believin” is playing in the background and Tony watches various customers coming into the restaurant. Tony’s daughter Meadow (Jamie-Lynn Sigler) is the last family member to arrive and as she opens the door, Tony looks up and the scene suddenly cuts to black. When the finale initially aired, many viewers thought their cable had cut out as the cut to black lasts for a few moments before we see the end credits. The ending was first met with a polarizing response from fans but over the years they have come to appreciate and understand the ambiguous ending and continue to analyze it today.

In the years since the finale, Chase has declared that he has no desire to ever explain the show’s ending. He’d rather the fans interpret it as they see fit and that has made it one of the most talked-about series finales in television history. Taylor is right in regards to what a sequel would mean for the finale. Chase would have to touch on what happened during the series finale and make it clear what Tony’s fate was. Since Chase has made it clear that he has no plans to explain things further, it makes sense that we would never get a sequel to continue the story.

In The Many Saints of Newark, we will get to see how Tony Soprano got his start. Playing the young Tony Soprano is the late James Gandolfini’s son, Michael Gandolfini, and it’s set in the 1960s and 1970s Newark, New Jersey, using the 1967 riots in the city as a backdrop for tensions between the Italian-American and African- American communities. The film will follow the teenage years of Tony Soprano in the midst of a violent gang war his family is involved in. The prequel also stars Alessandro Nivola, Leslie Odom Jr., Jon Bernthal, Corey Stoll, Billy Magnussen, John Magaro, Ray Liotta, and Vera Farmiga.

Do YOU want to see a sequel to The Sopranos? The Many Saints of Newark hits screens and HBO Max on October 1, 2021.