The Sopranos prequel film casts Alessandro Nivola as Dickey Moltisanti

Alessandro Nivola has been cast as Dickey Moltisanti in The Sopranos prequel film.

The character is the uncle and mentor of Tony Soprano; although the Moltisanti is mentioned multiple times as an influence on Tony in the original HBO series, the character has never appeared onscreen, as he was murdered at some point in the show's past.

Variety reports Nivola will join the cast of what has so far been a fairly secretive project. Titled The Many Saints of Newark, the film is directed by Alan Taylor, who directed nine episodes of the original series.

It was revealed in March that New Line had bought a screenplay written by Sopranos creator David Chase and multi-episode writer Lawrence Konner.

The story will reportedly be set during the Newark riots of the 1960s, with more characters familiar to Sopranos fans expected to make an appearance.

The show, which ran from 1999 to 2007, revolved around the fictional New Jersey-based, Italian American mobster Tony Soprano (James Gandolfini), focusing on his difficulty balancing his home life and criminal organisation.

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