The Sopranos Creator David Chase Confirms What Really Happened to Tony in the Finale

One of the biggest debates in the history of television surrounds the final moments of The Sopranos. Tony (James Gandolfini) and Carmela (Edie Falco) Soprano grab a bite to eat in a Jersey diner when a shady patron enters—then the screen cuts to black. If you assumed the screen cut immediately before the hitman killed Tony Soprano, you'd be correct.

Sopranos creator David Chase confirmed in a recent interview that he always intended for Tony to die, even though the cut-to-black shot wasn't always in the plans.

"Because the scene I had in my was not that scene. Nor did I think of cutting to black," Chase recently told THR while promoting The Many Saints of Newark. "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."

Instead, Chase was driving one day and stumbled across a 24-hour diner that he thought would be perfect to set the tone. One mysterious ending and "Don't Stop Believin'" needle-drop later, and Chase concocted one of the most-discussed finales in Hollywood.

"Yeah. But I think I had this notion — I was driving on Ocean Park Boulevard near the airport and I saw a little restaurant," Chase added. "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."

Now that the beloved HBO series is long-over and Tony's upbringing is seen in Newark, a prequel series is currently being floated as a possibility by executives at HBO Max. Chase is already in the midst of a five-year first-look WarnerMedia.

Every season of The Sopranos is now streaming on HBO MAX.