Many Saints of Newark Director Explains The Movie's Superhero Shot

[Animous]

The Many Saints of Newark director Alan Taylor breaks down the film's "superhero shot." Written by original series creator David Chase, The Sopranos prequel film released in theaters and on HBO Max this past weekend on October 1. Though Many Saints posted an underwhelming opening weekend, the majority of critics are praising it as a worthy prologue to HBO's beloved mafia series. Its dual streaming release, R-rating, and opening alongside Venom: Let There Be Carnage could all be blamed for cutting into the film's box office gross.

Helmed by the regular Sopranos director Alan Taylor, Many Saints of Newark follows Tony Soprano's formative years as a teenager (portrayed by James Gandolfini's son Michael) alongside his uncle, Dickie Moltisanti (Alessandro Nivola). The prequel film brings back a slew of characters from the series portrayed by younger actors, including Livia (Vera Farmiga), Johnny Boy (Jon Bernthal), Junior (Corey Stoll), Paulie (Billy Magnussen), and Silvio (John Magaro). The film also features some intriguing new characters, such as Ray Liotta in a dual role as "Hollywood Dick" and Sal Moltisanti. Leslie Odom Jr. stars as the primary antagonist, Harold McBrayer.

RELATED:Why Ray Liotta Plays Two Characters In Many Saints Of Newark

Now, in an exclusive by Variety, Many Saints of Newark director Alan Taylor (who previously directed 2013's Thor: The Dark World) is breaking down the film's violent shootout scene. The sequence occurs about midway through the film, part of the central conflict between Dickie and his former numbers runner turned rival, Harold. Taylor says the violence in a mafia film is different from an MCU movie in the sense that it's not supposed to be "feel-good violence," but he was still able to sneak a "superhero shot" into the movie when Harold makes a fiery entrance into Club Silhouette. Read Taylor's explanation below:

[It's] the closest thing to a superhero shot [in the movie] It lets Harold be a superhero, or a supervillain, for a second.

Taylor directed a total of 9 episodes of The Sopranos, including the series' penultimate episode, "The Blue Comet." That episode features two violent action sequences, one in which Tony's men kill a man they mistake for Phil Leotardo (Frank Vincent), and the other in which Bobby Baccalieri (Steve Schirripa) is whacked inside a model train store. However, these two scenes come nowhere close to the complexity and scale of the violent shootout in Many Saints.

This scene is likely a big part of the reason why Alan Taylor called Many Saints of Newark the hardest job he's ever done. Harold is certainly the character closest to a supervillain and since he's left alive at the end of the film, perhaps he could be primed for a future role in The Sopranos universe if David Chase ever decides to move forward with more installments. For now, The Many Saints of Newark is playing in theaters and streaming on HBO Max.

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