Sopranos Creator Regrets Killing One Character
David Chase, creator of The Sopranos, opened up recently about a big regret he had with the show, wishing he didn't kill a certain character
Sopranos creator David Chase opened up about the one character on the show that he wishes he didn’t kill off — at least not so quickly. The series creator appeared on the highly popular podcast Talking Sopranos, hosted by two of the series’ most popular cast members Michael Imperioli and Steve Schirripa. The duo recently decided that they were going to wrap up their long-running series now that they have mostly covered everything there is to cover with both the cast and crew of the series regarding all 91 of its episodes.
To close out the show, they enlisted David Chase for the final episode because, well, who better to close things out than the definitive mind behind the show who holds all the answers to any question a fan might ask? For some reason, Chase seized the occasion to spill the beans on some pretty intense questions about Sopranos lore. For example, when asked if there was anyone on the show who he regrets killing off, he was quick to give a pretty surprising answer.
He revealed that he would have kept Salvatore “Big Pussy” Bonpensiero, played by Vincent Pastore, around a lot longer than he did. For those unfamiliar, Tony Soprano killed Bonpensiero after the former finally found evidence that his longtime friend was actually informing on Tony and the rest of their crime family to the FBI. In the Season 2 finale of Sopranos, Tony invited his friend out on a boat where he and others informed him they were aware of his deception before shooting Big Pussy to death.
Chase told the podcast duo that he didn’t necessarily regret the decision to kill off Vincent Pastore’s character, but that he feels it happened too early in the series. He said he loved the character and that everyone loved working with the actor. After all, when reaching for a person to play an Italian-American mobster, it’s hard to do better than Pastore. Still, the show managed to make its way without him for another four seasons before ending its run after season 6. Meanwhile, Bonpensiero made an appearance in the Sopranos prequel movie The Many Saints of Newark, this time portrayed by actor Samson Moeakiola.
This is hardly the first bombshell that David Chase dropped about the series in recent months. In November, ahead of the release of The Many Saints of Newark, in which James Gandolfini’s son, Michael, took on the role of a young Tony Soprano, the TV creator explained the truth behind one of the most vexing moments in TV history.
In 2007, the series ended with an infamous and abrupt cut to black. As everyone quickly sprang up from their chairs to check their TV connections, it slowly dawned on fans everywhere that the implication was that Sopranos ended with the titular character, Tony Soprano, getting killed. However, it was left up to the viewer’s imagination until 2021 when Chase revealed to The Hollywood Reporter that, yes, he intended for Tony to die in that restaurant surrounded by his family. As for who killed him and why, that’s still a little bit of mystery.
