Prequels That Created Massive Plot Holes For The Original

One of the most acclaimed dramas of all time, «The Sopranos,» perhaps surprisingly, never received a sequel or spin-off. However, in 2021 it did get a prequel, starring the son of its star James Gandolfini as a younger version of mob boss Tony Soprano. Set in the 1970s, it follows Tony’s (Michael Gandolfini) days as a street-hustling teen and how he became involved in organized crime, but it creates a few problems for the story.

Whether one thinks of them as plot holes or retcons, several characters and events in «The Many Saints of Newark» are very different than what we know from «The Sopranos.» Some characters are the wrong ages, while other events alter the timeline in ways that don’t make sense. One example is that we see Johnny Boy (Jon Bernthal) get arrested in «The Many Saints of Newark — consistent with a previous «Sopranos» flashback — however, in the prequel series he spends four years behind bars. That creates a continuity issue because in «The Sopranos,» Johnny was out and about during that time, even shown getting his pinky finger lopped off in 1969.

More notable, however, is the age of Tony Soprano. Firmly established as being born in 1959 on «The Sopranos,» his appearance as an older teen in 1967 — when he should have been 8 years old — is a befuddling portrayal.