2 completed films among projects left behind by late ‘Sopranos’ star James Gandolfini

NEW YORK, N.Y. – James Gandolfini left behind numerous projects in various states of development, including two films that have already completed production.

The 51-year-old actor, who died Wednesday, had been busy, appearing in a flurry of late 2012 releases, including the Osama bin Laden hunt thriller “Zero Dark Thirty,” the stylish crime saga “Killing Them Softly” and the 1960s coming-of-age drama “Not Fade Away,” which reteamed him with “Sopranos” creator David Chase. Gandolfini continued to gravitate toward character actor roles, several of which will now be released posthumously.

The Brooklyn crime film “Animal Rescue,” which was shot this spring, was his final movie. Directed by Michael R. Roskam (“Bullhead”) and written by Dennis Lehane, it stars Tom Hardy and Noomi Rapace, with Gandolfini playing a bar owner. Fox Searchlight is expected to release it next year.

Gandolfini also co-stars in “Enough Said,” a romance from writer-director Nicole Holofcener (“Please Give”). He plays ex-husband to Catherine Keener, who is pursued by another divorcee, played by Julia Louis-Dreyfus. Shot last fall, “Enough Said” is also to be distributed by Fox Searchlight, though there is no release date set.

The “Sopranos” star continued to have close associations with HBO. He had shot a pilot for the network with Steven Zaillian (“A Civil Action”) for “Criminal Justice,” an adaption of the 2008 BBC series in which he plays a low-rent New York City attorney.

Though HBO initially passed on picking up the show, it was restructured for a more limited miniseries run. No episodes beyond the pilot have been shot, so the series’ future is now uncertain.

Gandolfini had also recently signed on to reteam with his “The Incredible Burt Wonderstone” co-star Steve Carell. In “Bone Wars,” a film from HBO Films, the two were to play rival 19th-century paleontologists Edward Drinker Cope and Othniel Charles Marsh. That project, though, was only in the early stages of development.