Jon Bernthal says ‘The Many Saints of Newark’ is “its own thing” and not another episode of ‘The Sopranos’

It’s the weekend Sopranos fans have been desperately waiting for — the prequel movie The Many Saints of Newark is out today.

Instead of picking up where The Sopranos ended nearly 15 years ago, the movie delves into the past and explores the life of a young Tony Soprano and the circumstances that led him to become the DiMeo crime family’s boss.

Jon Bernthal plays Tony Soprano’s father, known as Johnny Boy, in the film. He tells ABC Audio that fans of the original series shouldn’t treat the movie like two extra episodes of the award-winning HBO series.

“It’s absolutely its own thing. And I think that’s very smart. Those are shoes that are impossible to fill,” Bernthal explained, while keeping details about why that is to himself. “That’s something that exists on its own.”

There are whispers the movie does address what really happened to Tony Soprano in that controversial cut to black series ending, but don’t ask Bernthal to reveal what really happened to James Gandolfini‘s character.

“I think there’s a there’s a myriad of potential answers. And, yeah, I got no interest in answering it,” he teased.

And while The Many Saints of Newark will delight fans of the original series, Ray Liotta, who plays “Hollywood Dick” Moltisanti in the film, says the movie will also entertain those who haven’t tuned into the series –and that’s coming from someone who hasn’t watched The Sopranos.

“You don’t have to have been a fan of the show or even watched the series in order to appreciate what goes on in this movie,” Liotta assured. “You don’t have to be a big Sopranos fan or know everything that happened in order to appreciate and like it.”

The Many Saints of Newark is now in theaters and on HBO Max.