‘Sopranos’ Creator David Chase in Talks About Potential Prequel Series for HBO Max

Could the next chapter of the recently expanded Sopranos universe be a return to the TV format?

Speaking with Deadline, as reported Thursday, Ann Sarnoff—chair and CEO of WarnerMedia Studios and Networks Group—said that Sopranos creator David Chase is in talks about a potential HBO Max series.

“We’re talking to David about a new series, Sopranos related, on HBO Max,” Sarnoff, who also said the WarnerMedia team was “thrilled” by the impact of the Sopranos prequel film The Many Saints of Newark, told the entertainment news site.

For now, a final call on whether any future Sopranos project takes the form of a new original series or another movie hasn’t been made. Complex has reached out to reps for Chase and WarnerMedia for comment.

Of note here, though, is that Chase was reported earlier this month to have inked a five-year first look TV and movie deal with WarnerMedia. The deal means Chase will be developing potential projects for HBO, HBO Max, and Warner Bros. Pictures Group.

In a separate Deadline interview, shared in September ahead of the Newark rollout, Chase said there was “only one way” that he would do another Sopranos project, albeit—in the context of that discussion—he was talking about another movie. The caveat? He would have to pen the script with writer and producer Terrence Winter.

While Newark didn’t exactly land with the unanimous critical splash filmmakers were likely aiming for, the prequel film—set in the 1960s/1970s and starring the late James Gandolfini’s son Michael Gandolfini—did draw even more attention to the original series amid an ongoing resurgence in explorations of the show’s themes.

“You can’t measure just by the box office,” Sarnoff said this week.

The Many Saints of Newark is in theaters and on HBO Max now. Here, Complex takes a closer look at the prequel’s lingering questions. Next month, original series stars Michael Imperioli and Steve Schirripa will release their book Woke Up This Morning, which is billed as the “definitive oral history” of the HBO classic.