There are rumors from time to time that one is underway. Coppola has at times said he’s considered it and at other times denied it will ever happen, but then he said many times there’d never be a III, and then there was the mixed reviewed authorized sequel/prequel last year. Ultimately it’s up to Paramount Studios and Mario Puzo’s estate anyway.
So would it be possible? The potential settings would be:
1- the periods not covered between II’s flashbacks and the beginning of I (basically the late 1920s through 1941 when Vito expanded and cemented his power)
2- the period between II and III (1957-1979)
3- the period following III (1980-present)
4- (a real long shot) an “all the way back” prequel that deals with the Andolini family in Sicily or a branch of the family that remained there and worked for their kinsman the American Don.
The third scenario (1980 to present) would seem by far the most logical and likely. The only actors avaialable from the first two movies whose characters survived as well would be Connie (Talia Shire) and some of the very minor characters (Johnny Fontanne [Al Martino], Sonny’s children, etc.) with the possibility of a Pacino cameo as Michael as a very old sick man (GF3 doesn’t say when he died). Andy Garcia is the only major character from 3 who would be logical to bring back.
So, if a movie about the Corleone family in an America where the Mafia is having to go head to head with Russian, Vietnamese and other syndicates feasible perhaps? A fourth movie set post-1980 would have the family essentially totally distanced from Sicily as Vincent would have Sicilian ancestry but no personal sense of roots there (he visited there but was 100% American when he did so- he did not grow up in a bilingual first generation household like his father) and any pretense of glamour and honor from the other movies pretty much gone as the crime becomes nastier and more heroin/meth/protection related (ala Donnie Brasco, Pacino’s anti-Michael turn).
Anyway, do you think there’s anyway it could be done and be a worthy addition (i.e. better than 3)? What would you suggest by way of plots/charactes/settings?
I would be more interested in the long-rumored, big screen version of The Sopranos that supposedly will be made after the series ends this time around.
Although I have to admit, the film style of the Godfather films was grand and epic, so it would be interesting to either have Coppola direct the Sopranos film, or have the writers of The Sopranos write the next Godfather,
I’m not going to say Godfather III was good, but it did conclude the Michael Corleone story. (And there are bits of it that aren’t terrible, from what I remember.) Maybe I’m not like a lot of movie viewers, but I’m not very curious what happens to the family after Michael dies [IMDb says the G3 DVD puts his death in 1997]. Michael is the lynchpin of the movies; it’s his story, not the family’s. The other stuff is mostly trivia.
If you set it in the years between Mary’s death and Michael’s, I’m not sure how active a protagonist he could be. I thought we were supposed to feel that he was a broken man after that, and pretty much left crime to crawl away and die. Perhaps there are some possibilities that I’m not seeing and it could be a more interesting movie.
I have no idea about the likelihood of a fourth movie being made or how to make one that wouldn’t suck. But of the options presented the one that appeals to me by far the most would be option 1. The '30s are the era for gangster/mafia pictures, and I’d love to see what the Corleone’s were up to during that time. And the setting would be great – New York during the Great Depression, still teaming with recent immigrants, fascism on the rise in Europe…
They could do Part 4 in the style of Part II. It would contrast the rise of Vito in the 1930s and 40’s with the collapse of the family under Vincent. Vincent showed himself to be a really poor choice as head of the family.
DeNiro can reprise his roll as Vito, Kirby is still around to continue playing Clemenza. It could work.
I think the Godfather and the Corleones should be allowed to Rest. There is a chance they could make a good movie, but it seems more likely they would make a disappointing movie. Puzo is gone, I don’t think there is much source material left.
I think I am more interested in something Soprano’s related. kingpengvin idea sounds interesting, but I rather see them leave the films alone then attempt a new one. As it is, I have only seen God Father III once. I love the first two films and I think they are the top two films of all time. When I want more NY Mafia stuff, I would rather watch GoodFellas.