Show Creator David Chase Sheds New Light on Tony's Fate in 'The Sopranos'

It goes without saying at this point that The Sopranos is one of the most successful television shows in history. From 1999–2007, the show dominated airwaves and created a cult-like following of millions of fans worldwide. Even now, roughly a decade and a half since it ended, the show is still gaining new fans every day, and its most recent entry, the prequel The Many Saints of Newark, is being lauded as a successful continuation of the storyline.

For however many legions of fans love The Sopranos and everything about it, there has been one aspect of the show that has drawn controversy since it happened: the ending. Indeed, the abrupt conclusion to the story that so many had become endeared to was a big talking point when The Sopranos wrapped up, with no conclusive answer given on the fate of Tony Soprano after it all. Now, show creator David Chase is shedding more light on what he intended the show's ending to be.

In a new interview with The Hollywood Reporter, David Chase shed some new light on Tony's fate after about 15 years of ambiguity.

"I had no idea it would cause that much … of an uproar," David said of the show's controversial cut-to-black ending. "What was annoying was how many people wanted to see Tony killed. They wanted to see him go face-down in linguini, you know? That bothered me."

He continued: "And I just thought, 'God, you watched this guy for seven years and I know he’s a criminal. But don’t tell me you don’t love him in some way, don’t tell me you’re not on his side in some way. And now you want to see him killed? You want justice done? You’re a criminal after watching this s--t for seven years.' That bothered me."

During the expansive interview, David explained that he had an alternate ending in mind for the famed New Jersey mobster.

"I had a scene in which Tony comes back from a meeting in New York in his car," he said. "At the beginning of every show, he came from New York into New Jersey, and the last scene could be him coming from New Jersey back into New York for a meeting at which he was going to be killed."

However, David apparently changed his mind regarding that ending when he was driving by a small restaurant that stuck with him, about two years before the finale. In that moment, he thought, "Tony should get it in a place like that," which brought about the now-infamous "Made in America" episode's conclusion.

Between this new information, The Many Saints of Newark finally clarifying who killed Dickie Moltisanti, and the rumors of a prequel Sopranos series heading to HBO Max in the future, it appears that the Sopranos universe is far from over. So with that being said, fans can likely expect to see more and more new stuff about everyone's favorite mobsters coming down the pipeline as time goes on.