Francis Ford Coppola began developingThe Godfather Part IVin the late ‘90s, but it ended up getting scrapped — and there’s a good chance it’ll never get produced. In 1972,The Godfatherbecame the highest-grossing movie ever made, was hailed as one of the greatest films of all time, and made Coppola a household name. In 1974,The Godfather Part IIwas met with an equal amount of critical acclaim and quickly became the go-to example of a sequel that outdid its predecessor. In 1990,The Godfather Part IIIstruggled to replicate that success.
Although it was still nominated for Best Picture,The Godfather Part IIIwas considered a massive step down from its predecessors. It wasn’t as big of a box office hit as expected and it was met with mixed reviews. The threequel was criticized for its plot,Sofia Coppola’s performance as Mary Corleone, and for being an unnecessary addition to a perfect story. After that harsh reception, it might sound like a dangerous idea to pursueThe Godfather Part IV. But Coppola did begin work on a fourth film before eventually shelving the project.
Plans For The Godfather 4 Ended After Mario Puzo’s Death
After the mixed reception toThe Godfather Part III,Coppola hoped to redeem the franchise withThe Godfather Part IV. He began developing ideas for the story with Mario Puzo, the author of the original novel thatThe Godfatherwas based on. Coppola and Puzo had co-written the first three films and started discussing a fourth. However,The Godfather Part IVfell apartwhen Puzo passed away in 1999. When Puzo passed away, he and Coppola had developed a loose outline for the fourth film, butPuzo died before they were able to write a full screenplay.
Francis Ford Coppola Considers The Godfather’s Story Complete
“In My Mind There Is Only 1 Film Known As The Godfather”
Although Coppola is back from semi-retirement and eager to keep making films, it’s unlikely that he’ll ever return toThe Godfather Part IV. When he was asked about going back toThe Godfather Part IV, Coppola wrote on social media, “In my mind there is only 1 film known as The Godfather (Parts I and II) and an epilogue or ‘coda’ The Death of Michael Corleone.”Coppola considersThe Godfathersaga to be complete. The first two films tellThe Godfatherstory in its entirety, and the third one caps it off with a conclusive epilogue.
The first two films tell The Godfather story in its entirety, and the third one caps it off with a conclusive epilogue.
Afterthe box office failure ofMegalopolis,a fourthGodfatherfilm is one of the few Coppola projects that Hollywood might actually jump at the chance to finance. But the filmmaker has no interest in revisiting the Corleone saga and has a couple of very different future projects lined up instead.Coppola has teased his post-Megalopolisprojectsas “another roll of the dice” similar to his self-financed sci-fi epic. There’s a traditional movie, which he plans to shoot in England, andDistant Vision, a more unconventional project chronicling three generations of an Italian American family.
Since Coppola initially developed the project with Puzo, it might feel wrong to complete it without him. Coppola has co-writtenall threeGodfathermovieswith Puzo, and the whole franchise is built on Puzo’s source material, so it wouldn’t sit right to make a newGodfatherfilm without any involvement from Puzo. Coppola could build on the material he developed with Puzo before his death, but that material was still in the early development stages when Puzo passed away, so it was a far cry from a finished script.
What The Godfather 4’s Story Would’ve Been About
Leonardo DiCaprio Would’ve Starred As Young Sonny Corleone
The Godfather Part IVwas first announced in 1999 (viaThe Guardian). It would’ve followed anotherhalf sequel, half prequel storyline likeThe Godfather Part II. Rather than contrasting Vito’s rise to power with Michael’s moral downfall, it would’ve followed the concurrent journeys of a different father and son within the Corleone clan.Andy García would reprise his role fromThe Godfather Part IIIas Vincent Corleone in the sequel story, which would see him taking over the family businessduring an intense gang war in the 1980s, still haunted by the death of his cousin Mary.
Andy García would reprise his role from The Godfather Part III as Vincent Corleone in the sequel story, which would see him taking over the family business during an intense gang war in the 1980s, still haunted by the death of his cousin Mary.
InThe Godfather Part IV’s prequel story,Leonardo DiCaprio would play a younger version of Vincent’s fatherSonny, the hotheaded Corleone originally played by James Caan. The story of how Sonny earned the family’s power and respect in the 1930s would’ve been juxtaposed with the story of how his son Vincent lost their power and respect in the ‘80s. Puzo’s section of the unproduced sequel, following the Corleone family’s rise to power in the early ‘30s, was eventually repurposed as a novel. The novel was written by Edward Falco and got published in 2012 under the titleThe Family Corleone.
The Godfather
The Godfatheris one of the most iconic and influential film franchises in cinematic history. Based on Mario Puzo’s 1969 novel of the same name, the series chronicles the rise and fall of the powerful Corleone crime family. Directed by Francis Ford Coppola, the franchise consists of three films that explore the complex dynamics of organized crime, loyalty, and family. The films are celebrated for their outstanding performances, direction, and thematic depth, especially regarding power, betrayal, and morality within the Mafia world. The first two films, in particular, are widely regarded as some of the greatest films ever made.
