The events of The Sopranos take place decades before those of The Many Saints of Newark. However, Edie Falco, who played Carmela Soprano on HBO’s Emmy-winning series, shot a scene for the film that was ultimately removed. “It finished up not being in the final movie, but it was a wonderful reason to see her again,” director Alan Taylor told NME. Falco’s sequence was supposed to open Saints, but “it wound up not being in the final movie but it was a nice excuse to see her again,” director Alan Taylor told NME. “She’s so ridiculously talented and she’s also one of these people who – and it seems to frequently be women – that manage to be perfect actors and also the sanest people you’ve ever met in your life.”
Taylor (who also directed episodes of Game of Thrones and Mad Men) said there was “some confusion as to how best launch the movie,” so they “tried a few things and that was one of them. If you’ve seen the movie, you’ll see that we begin it in a very different way now but that wasn’t always the idea.” I haven’t seen The Many Saints of Newark, but rumor has it that it’s two hours of Meadow trying to parallel park her dang car. It’s the most stressful time at the theater (or HBO Max) since Uncut Gems.
It’s worth noting that Taylor refers to Falco as “dressing up as Carmela,” not as “playing Carmela.” Maybe she was dressed like Carmela, but in her mind, she was Nurse Jackie? That’s understandable why it was cut. It’s perplexing.
On October 1, The Many Saints of Newark will be released in theaters and on HBO Max.
