(Photo: The Kobal Collection)

T he Young Tony Soprano Chronicles? Janice Loves Bobby? Sopranos creator David Chase says he’s thought about a spinoff of his soon-to-depart hit—but don’t hold your breath for one. “HBO has those moments. I have those moments. But it’s doubtful that there would be a spinoff. Actually, one time we talked about it—and I didn’t know if it was serious—I thought there could be a good sitcom of Janice and Bobby Bacala. What’s also occurred to me is a prequel with Tony. But the problem is that Jim Gandolfini is such a genius, frankly, that it would be a real challenge to find someone who would be believable as a young Tony.” So how about a movie? “A movie still exists as a possibility, I suppose. But it becomes less and less of a possibility because of technical challenges. I mean, where would you come in on the story? Let’s suppose, at the end of this, there are characters who don’t make it. How would you do the movie without them?” The Sopranos returns to HBO on April 8.

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Related:

• Archive: “Intelligencer”
• Articles by Harold Goldberg
• Table of Contents: March 26, 2007 issue of New York | Subscribe!