THE SOPRANOS MAY be on the way to the cinema.

Warner Bros Pictures has confirmed that the New Line production label has purchased a screenplay for a prequel to the hit gangster series from creator David Chase and Lawrence Konner.

The studio says the working title is The Many Saints of Newark and will be set in the 1960s during the Newark riots.

Chase’s acclaimed series about mobster Tony Soprano, played by the late James Gandolfini, ran for six seasons on HBO and won 21 primetime Emmy awards.

Warner Bros Picture Group chairman Toby Emmerich said in a statement that the studio is thrilled that Chase has decided to revisit and enlarge the Soprano universe.

Chase will executive produce and co-write the film, but a director has yet to be selected.

Deadline, which originally broke the news of the planned film, said no details of the plot were available.

However, the time period would appear to suggest that the movie will focus on the exploits of Tony’s father Johnny Boy Soprano and his uncle Junior, played by Dominic Chianese in the HBO series.

- Associated Press with reporting by Daragh Brophy 

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