The Sopranos creator David Chase reveals James Gandolfini’s character will return in prequel film

Chase admitted he's 'very worried' about the outcome of the forthcoming project

The Sopranos creator has celebrated the seminal drama's 20th anniversary by sharing details of the forthcoming prequel film.

David Chase has announced that The Many Saints of Newark will feature a young version of Tony Soprano, the character made famous by James Gandolfini.

The project - a co-production between New Line and Warner Bros - was confirmed in 2018. It'll be directed by Alan Taylor, who oversaw nine episodes of the series, with Alessandro Nivola starring as Dickie Moltisanti, the father of Sopranos character Christopher (Michael Imperioli).

It'll be Dickie who guides viewers through the film which will focus on the origins of the mob in “the turbulence of racial tensions between African Americans and Italian Americans” in 1970s New Jersey.

Chase has revealed the film generated from an interest in Tony's childhood.

“I was interested in Newark and life in Newark at that time,” he told Deadline. “I used to go to down there every Saturday night for dinner with my grandparents. But the thing that interested me most was Tony’s boyhood. I was interested in exploring that.“

He continued: “The movie will deal with the tensions between the blacks and whites at the time, and Tony Soprano will be part of this, but as a kid.“

Chase added that he“s ”still very worried“ about the outcome of the film, but was keen to explore a time when the mafia was more refined - a far cry from the tracksuit-wearing posse depicted in The Sopranos.

“It is going to depict when it was good,” he said. “The mafia was very polished at that time, how they dressed and what they did. Those traditions were followed more loosely in the series. These weren’t guys who wore tracksuits, back then.”

The Sopranos, which co-starred Edie Falco, Steven Van Zandt and Joe Pantoliano, ran from 1999 to 2007. Gandolfini passed away in 2013.

The Many Saints of Newark is expected to arrive late 2019.