Though widely regarded as one of the best television series of all time, David Chase's The Sopranos came with a somewhat controversial finale. As you may know by now (spoilers), James Gandolfini's Tony Soprano goes to meet his family at a diner after members of his crew are picked off one by one. Carmela, AJ and Tony wait for Meadow to park her car on the street and as she enters the restaurant, Tony looks up, and the screen fades to black — all to the tune of Journey's "Don't Stop Believin'."
For years, Tony's fate has remained shrouded in mystery, while some fans have speculated that the man dressed in a Members Only jacket fulfilled a hit on the mob boss. Now, Chase has put the theories to bed, revealing for the first time what was meant to happen to Tony.
"The scene I had in my mind was not that scene," the showrunner told The Hollywood Reporter. "Nor did I think of cutting to black."
He explained: "I had a scene in which Tony comes back from a meeting in New York in his car. 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."
As Chase tells it, the ending that made the cut came to him while out on a drive. He explained: "I was driving on Ocean Park Boulevard near the airport and I saw a little restaurant. It was kind of like a shack that served breakfast. And for some reason I thought, 'Tony should get it in a place like that.' Why? I don't know. That was, like, two years before."
Though Chase confessed that he never thought the open-ended finale would cause so much uproar among viewers, he admitted that he was a little annoyed with fans who wanted to watch Tony die.
"They wanted to see him go face-down in linguini, you know?" Chase said. "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?'"
He continued: "You want justice done? You're a criminal after watching this shit for seven years."
Hear the full interview with Chase below.
For years, Tony's fate has remained shrouded in mystery, while some fans have speculated that the man dressed in a Members Only jacket fulfilled a hit on the mob boss. Now, Chase has put the theories to bed, revealing for the first time what was meant to happen to Tony.
"The scene I had in my mind was not that scene," the showrunner told The Hollywood Reporter. "Nor did I think of cutting to black."
He explained: "I had a scene in which Tony comes back from a meeting in New York in his car. 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."
As Chase tells it, the ending that made the cut came to him while out on a drive. He explained: "I was driving on Ocean Park Boulevard near the airport and I saw a little restaurant. It was kind of like a shack that served breakfast. And for some reason I thought, 'Tony should get it in a place like that.' Why? I don't know. That was, like, two years before."
Though Chase confessed that he never thought the open-ended finale would cause so much uproar among viewers, he admitted that he was a little annoyed with fans who wanted to watch Tony die.
"They wanted to see him go face-down in linguini, you know?" Chase said. "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?'"
He continued: "You want justice done? You're a criminal after watching this shit for seven years."
Hear the full interview with Chase below.
