Robert De Niro Replacing James Gandolfini in HBO Drama

The death of James Gandolfini has put several of his projects in jeopardy.

One such project was his long-awaited return to HBO in the limited series Criminal Justice, based on the BBC series of the same name. However, the network has found a replacement worthy of the late Gandolfini's talents. Deadline reports that Robert De Niro will take over Gandolfini's role in the seven-episode series, playing a New York attorney taking on the case of a Pakistani murder suspect. Gandolfini had already filmed his appearance in the end of the show's pilot episode, making reshoots a bit easier. But the series still required an actor of Gandolfini's talent to assume the role.

To that end, De Niro was reportedly the only actor that HBO and director Steve Zaillian would consider for the role, as the belief was that the Oscar winner was the only actor who could properly “honor Gandolfini’s memory with his performance.”

The series marks De Niro's first regular TV series role.

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