The Sopranos prequel is keeping it in the family. Alan Taylor has signed up to direct the upcoming movie, who directed nine episodes of the original HBO series, ranging from the sixth episode of season one to the penultimate episode of the final season.
A go-to director for HBO, Taylor has also helmed episodes of Game of Thrones, Mad Men, Sex and the City and Boardwalk Empire.
He will be an incredibly safe pair of hands for the project, although it is interesting that New Line has decided not to go with an auteurist director who would put an idiosyncratic stamp or style on the film. The choice of a Sopranos alum. suggests that the prequel may be in keeping with the tone of the TV series.
It was revealed in March that New Line had bought a screenplay written by The Sopranos creator David Chase and multi-episode writer Lawrence Konner, which is set in the era of the 1960s race riots in the New Jersey city.
It's unclear how many Sopranos characters will appear in The Many Saints of Newark (working title), most of whom would have been either children or not even born in the 60s.
Taylor has also directed feature films Thor: The Dark World and Terminator: Genisys. His Sopranos director credits are as follows:
- 'The Blue Comet' (2007)
- 'Kennedy and Heidi' (2007)
- 'Stage 5' (2007)
- 'Kaisha' (2006)
- 'The Ride' (2006)
- 'The Fleshy Part of the Thigh' (2006)
- 'Rat Pack' (2004)
- 'The Strong, Silent Type' (2002)
- 'Pax Soprana' (1999)
