Goodfellas actor Ray Liotta is returning to the mob. Deadline reports the actor has joined the cast of HBO and New Line’s The Sopranos prequel film The Many Saints of Newark.
“I am thrilled to be working with David Chase and Alan Taylor on The Many Saints of Newark,” Liotta said. “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.”
The Many Saints of Newark will take place during the era of the Newark riots in the ’60s, when African Americans and Italian Americans in the city were at each other’s throats. That clash became lethal when it spread to gangsters of each group.
The cast of The Many Saints of Newark has been growing as of late. Liotta joins Jon Bernthal (The Punisher) Vera Farmiga (The Conjuring), Corey Stoll (The Strain), Billy Magnussen (Game Night) and Alessandro Nivola (Disobedience) in the prequel. In addition, Michael Gandolfini, the son of the late James Gandolfini who led The Sopranos as Tony Soprano, will play a young version of his father’s character for the film.
Details on the new additions’ characters are being kept tightly under wraps, and all we know so far is that Nivola is playing Dickie Moltisanti, the uncle of Tony Soprano and father of Christopher Moltisanti ( played originally by Michael Imperioli), who along with Tony’s father Giovanni ‘Johnny Boy’ Soprano and Corrado ‘Junior’ Soprano – was a key figure in helping to turn their small gang into a successful crime family.
The Many Saints of Newark is being written by The Sopranos creator David Chase and Lawrence Konner (Boardwalk Empire), and has Alan Taylor – who won an Emmy for his work on the episode ‘Kennedy and Heidi – attached to direct.
