I'm with you, Leslie.

Frankly, I am totally mystified by the viewpoint that there should be no Part IV. Granted, Part III was nowhere as good as I or II, but those two films are an enormous standard to compare anything else to. As has been said by many here before, had Part III been the only GODFATHER film, it would have been recognized for the fine work of art (although flawed) that it was.

I personally enjoy the films of the trilogy more as examples of the film maker's art than for their plots. The stories were all good, of course, but let's face it: Part II had a plot that had major holes in it, and the plot of Part III was at times incomprehensible. I consider myself a fairly intelligent person, and I had to watch Part III many times before I knew just who was doing what to who. And in some cases, I'm still not completely sure.

But that, for me, doesn't detract one bit from my enjoyment of the first two films. And a Part IV, no matter how bad it may turn out to be, won't either.

As far as a plot goes, Michael's death at the end of III is inconsequential. Part III was set in the late 70's, so Part IV could easilly be in the early 90's, with all of the characters having aged appropriately. Clearly, from his look when he died, Michael was still alive then. All we'd need is a good story with him, Vincent, Connie, Neri, Kay, et al.

The flashback scenes could potentially be great. DeNiro as Vito 25 years or so after Part II--Late 1930's, early 1940's. (We may have to play with the time line a little, here). There are more than enough possible flashback scenes in the novel which weren't covered in Part II. I see Scott Caan as Sonny, and there are certainly enough good, young male actors around to fill the other roles.

Let's all admit it, now: If and when they do make Part IV, there isn't a person on these boards who calls himself a Godfather fan that won't be going to see it within a few days of its opening.