Alan Taylor has closed a deal to direct “The Many Saints Of Newark” for New Line, a feature film script written by David Chase that will serve as a prequel to his iconic TV series, “The Sopranos,” TheWrap has exclusively learned.

Taylor won the 2007 Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Directing for “The Sopranos” sixth season episode “Kennedy and Heidi,” and directed episodes of “The Sopranos” in four of the show’s six seasons.

The film takes place in the 1960s, when riots swept through Newark, New Jersey and conflicts between African-American and Italian residents were at their worst. Several characters from the “Sopranos” are expected to appear in the film, though New Line would not disclose further plot details.

Lawrence Konner, who worked on “The Sopranos” with Chase, is listed as co-writer for the project. Chase will also produce the film and be involved in selecting the director. Chase Films’ Nicole Lambert will serve as executive producer. New Line is the production company.

“The Sopranos” is widely regarded as one of the greatest TV series ever made, winning 21 Emmys from 111 nominations during its eight-year run from 1999-2007. It was nominated for Outstanding Drama Series in every year it was eligible, becoming the first cable network show to win the award in 2004 and then winning again for its final season in 2007.

Taylor’s other credits include “Game of Thrones,” “Mad Men,” “Boardwalk Empire,” and most recently “Electric Dreams.” On the feature side he directed “Thor: The Dark World” and “Terminator Genisys.”