Will We Ever Get Another Godfather Movie?
There was once a plan to make a fourth Godfather film, but the movie was canceled after Mario Puzo passed away.
The Godfather trilogy is considered by many to be amongst the best movies of all time, and these classic masterpieces hold up to this day. But Hollywood being Hollywood, it can’t always leave money-making IP alone. It leaves one to wonder — what is the possibility that Hollywood would try to revitalize or reboot the franchise with future films?
For some cinephiles, it might seem borderline sacrilege to try to reboot or even continue the franchise. Still, that doesn’t mean there haven’t been talks of a fourth Godfather film at some point. However, that fourth film was canceled a while ago, and it doesn’t look like there are any current plans to move the franchise forward.
To find out what happened to the possible fourth Godfather film, we have to go way back to 1999 when The Hollywood Reporter says that the fourth film was in the works and that Andy Garcia would be in the lead role as Vincent Corleone, reprising his role from the third film.
Garcia himself even confirmed in a 2011 GQ interview that there were early talks in place and that he had spoken to director Francis Ford Coppola about the possibility of making it.
However, the month after the Hollywood Reporter article came out, Mario Puzo passed away. Puzo was not only the author of the book the franchise was based on, but he also co-wrote the movie screenplays alongside Francis Ford Coppola. With Puzo passing away, Coppola decided to suspend any potential sequels and the possibility of the franchise moving on.
Still, the reports of what the fourth Godfather film could have looked like were very interesting, and with Puzo and Coppola making it, it could have very well pleased even the staunchest fans.
According to reports, the film would have told a story in the present and the past, with the past focusing on a younger Sonny and Vito Corleone building the family business in the 1930s. Meanwhile, the present-day story would have followed Andy Garcia’s Vincent Corleone as he engaged in a war that would have ended the family business and saw the family losing all of its respect and power in the process.
Not only were the plot details interesting, but Leonardo DiCaprio was also being looked at to play a young Sonny Corleone. Of course, none of this ended up coming to fruition. However, author Ed Falco did release a novel in 2012 called The Family Corleone that expanded on Puzo’s contributions to the fourth Godfather script about the family building its business in the 1930s.
This is where the potential for a fourth Godfather film gets interesting because the Puzo estate was initially blocking Paramount Picture from producing a film about The Family Corleone. That rights deal was eventually resolved, and Paramount gained the right to make more films in the franchise if it chooses. With that being said, it doesn’t seem like Paramount is in any great rush to make more films in the franchise right away.
In December 2020, Francis Ford Coppola released a recut version of the third film called The Godfather Coda: The Death of Michael Corleone, which Coppola said more accurately portrayed his and Puzo’s original vision for the film.
Shortly after that, Paramount spoke to The New York Times and said in a statement, “While there are no imminent plans for another film in the ‘Godfather’ saga, given the enduring power of its legacy it remains a possibility if the right story emerges.” Obviously, Paramount wouldn’t close the door to a potentially lucrative franchise altogether, but that statement certainly didn’t sound like Paramount has urgency behind making more.
Also, there’s the fact that Francis Ford Coppola has said that he wouldn’t want to direct any more films, which probably wouldn’t make fans of the franchise too interested in seeing more. On the other hand, Andy Garcia has expressed interest in directing a fourth Godfather film, but he said he would need Coppola’s blessing before accepting the gig.
Having someone who knows the franchise like Garcia would lend it more credibility and make fans interested in seeing it, but there hasn’t really been any word on a new film since Paramount made its statement in 2020.
However, you can always check out the multiple projects based on making The Godfather. One is a mini-series called The Offer starring Miles Teller, Matthew Goode, Juno Temple, Giovanni Ribisi, Dan Fogler, Burn Gorman, and Colin Hanks that is currently available. on Paramount+. The other is a film that has been in development for a while called Francis and the Godfather, which stars Oscar Isaac, Jake Gyllenhaal, Elisabeth Moss, and Elle Fanning.
