David Chase has reportedly agreed to co-write and produce a movie prequel to The Sopranos TV show.

According to Deadline, the creator will work on the Newline-produced film which will be titled The Many Saints Of Newark.

But it won't be an origin story for the late James Gandolfini's Tony Soprano: it will instead focus on the crime organisation before the events of the series happened.

The show will go back to the 1960s, but will involve "some of the beloved characters" from the series.

The premise will take place around the Newark riots in 1967, honing in on the racial divide and crime happening in the New Jersey city back then.

If you followed the series, Tony and Janice's father "Johnny Boy" lived during this time in flashbacks, alongside Tony's Uncle Junior and mother, Livia.

Since Paulie Gualtieri, Salvatore “Big Pussy” Bonpensiero, and later, Silvio Dante were friends and colleagues of Johnny Boy, there's a decent chance they'll appear in the series.

Chase gave hints about a sequel last year when he told Entertainment Weekly that he could "conceive of maybe a prequel of The Sopranos" only if he was to do something around the series.

The Sopranos aired on HBO for eight years and followed Tony's personal and professional problems, which saw him go into psychiatric counselling.

The original cast starred Gandolfini, Edie Falco, Lorraine Bracco and Michael Imperioli.