Personally, I don't think this would be a good idea, but if GF4 is to be made, would anyone here want to see Pacino in it and see what happened to him between Mary's death and his own death? Or should we all just forget about Michael and move on to Vincent and look back at Sonny's life? But then again, can The Godfather still be The Godafther without Pacino in it for the first time?

Pacino was the central character in the Godfather films and if a fourth were to be made his inclusion would be no doubt much more beneficial to the movie than it would be without him. However if the film has a poor plot like part 3 i think pacino would stay away from it, FFC needs to come up with an other epic to make GF4 live up to its hype.

A good GF IV could be made using a similar structure to GF II (i.e. flashbacks and 'modern times).

The 'flashback sequences would center around the 'happy years' of 1927-1941 when the Corleone Family rose from essentially a neighborhood operation to a dominant force on the national crime scene.

The 'modern' sequence would focus how the family functions after the hit attempt on Michael and Mary's death, and what effect this has on the survivors. The time span would be mainly in the 1980s-90s since the time of Michael's death as seen in GF III is said to be approximately 1997.

The story would depend on Al Pacino delivering an absolutely nihilistic performance as a declining, embittered Michael, and also on Talia Shire as a chillingly ruthless and relentless Connie, who I could see in GF IV perhaps becoming the final embodiment of the family's legacy of death.

I really like that idea Enzo, the only thing they would have to do would be to find a whole new family for the flashbacks. They could have De Niro still be Vito but they would need at least 4 young talented actors to be young Michael, Sonny, Fredo, and Connie.

The other tough part would be convinvcing Pacino, De Niro, and Shire to all come back one more time. I know Andy Garcia has expressed interest in a fourth Godfather but he cant do it all alone.

Bobby DeNiro might be a stretch to do Vito again, since he's about 60, and we'd be seeing Vito from the ages of about 35-47 or thereabouts. But a good makeup artist and DeNiro's acting chops could make it work...

Here are some casting thoughts I just had... Don't ask where some of them came from ... (in case you can't guess, I've been watching The Sopranos lately)

Of course, we're assuming that 1) money and 2) ego will not interfere with things! (LOL)

Younger Tessio (late 30s/40s):



Younger Clemenza (late 30s/40s):



Younger Michael Corleone (late teens and college):



Younger Connie Corleone (late teens, early 20s):




Younger Fredo: (20s)



(Remember, we're goin' for the semi- geek-loser look here!)

Younger Tom Hagen (late 20s-30s):


Younger Sonny Corleone (20s-30s) and Santino Corleone, Jr. in the 1980s/1990s sequence:




Hey, what the hell....??

Back to the 1930s...
Younger Frank Pentangeli (40-ish):



Younger Hyman Roth: (50-ish):



Younger Moe Greene (35-40):



And in an uncredited cameo role as Luca Brasi, at his fearsome best...




And in the "epilogue" sequence: "The Corleone Family at the Millennium (1980-1997, with coda, 2003)

Santino, Jr., a little less hotheaded than his half-brother Vincent, also rises to a major role in the family at this time (after, we are told, living the 'straight life' for 10-15 years, explaining his absence from GF III)... and Anthony Corleone, after the shock of seeing his sister's murder ... abruptly decides to dump his singing career and returns to law school. Against his father's wishes, Anthony decides to get involved in the family business, to seek revenge for Mary's death. (Astonishingly, we find out that Kay - now widowed after her husband dies of a heart attack - actually encourages him to do this, with urging from Connie, who sees Anthony's analytical mind and dramatic flair as an asset to the family. Michael strongly resists the idea at first, but Connie and Vincent convince him it's the right move.)

Upon completing law school and trying several high-profile cases in the mid-1980s, Anthony goes to work for his father and cousin as the lead defense counsel for the Corleone Family in criminal matters, which becomes critical as the Justice Department attempts to bring the hammer down on the family's operation.

But Anthony's sheltered upbringing leaves him weak, vulnerable and indecisive, and he is pressured by the Feds (and the other families) to give up information on the family, which needless to say brings him into conflict with his cousins Sonny, Mikey and Vincent, at least one of whom concludes that Anthony has become an intolerable liability.

We see Vincent seek counsel from his uncle Michael. "Uncle... What would YOU do when a family member betrays your trust and places everyone in the family in danger?"

Michael hedges his answer, because he knows he can't tell Vincent the truth - or he could be signing Anthony's death warrant. He finds out shortly thereafter that Vincent has asked Connie the same question.

Meanwhile, Michael Francis (Rizzo) Corleone, who, backed by his chillingly ruthless and cold-blooded mother Connie, now the Godmother of the Corleone Family, rises to effective control of the family in the early 1990s (after being released from a 10-year jail stint in about 1980, we later find out) when his cousin Vincent is critically wounded in a hit attempt and his own Godfather, Michael Corleone, is partially incapacitated by a stroke, speaking only with difficulty, and confined to medical care.

The movie ends in 1997, at the funeral of Michael Corleone, as his godson, now the Godfather himself, "settles all family business..."





The final scene is 2003, in a courthouse in New Jersey, with Ellis Island and the Statue of Liberty visible out the window in the background, in a blustery winter storm, as a judge reads the name of an accused juvenile murderer before passing sentence.

"Vito Andolini Corleone..." We see the hardened face of the 16-year-old suspect. His father, Vincent Corleone, enters the courtroom in a wheelchair, surrounded by a phlanx of bodyguards led by Al Neri, still cold and steely at the age of 80.... his mother, Grace Hamilton, looks on in a cold rage. Vito is led off into a cell. The door slides on its track and closes with a crash, and a hard metallic click as the lock shuts.

He sits on the bed and starts chanting phrases from a violent rap song...

Scene dissolves to the cemetery in New York City.
The camera pans over the stones, obscured by dead leaves and drifting snow. It is sunset, and the shadows are long and black:

Vito Corleone, 1893-1954
Carmella Corleone, 1897-1959
Santino Corleone, 1917-1947
Alfredo Corleone, 1920-1959
Michael Corleone, 1924-1997
Constanzia Corleone, 1927-2001

The scene fades. A single figure walks slowly away from the gravesites, as, for the final time, the Godfather Theme rises...

I liked some of those ideas. I liked the girl for Connie, mark wahlberg for young sonny, billy bob thornton as young tessio, sean penn as young hyman, clooney would be good for moe greene but thats a smaller part where im sure ego would get in the way, ha. I like Nic Cage as Santino Jr. at the end also. I dont really like the guy you picked as Michael, ive never seen him before and hes not that good looking. I know Pacino wasnt that well known when GF came out but if its gonna be a nobody, its gotta be someone with dark hair that is good looking. And with Fredo, you need to find someone that looks exactly like him cuz John Cazale's face is very defined and not too many people look like him. So it has to be someone with a high forehead like Cazale and really skinny body.

I like the idea too although it seems really sad at the end, but I guess thats what will happen to a family when they get into that kind of business. And I dont think Kay would encourage Anthony to get in the business after losing Mary. Im guessing Kay and Anthony would despise Michael after that and would probably cut off all communication after her death which is why Michael was alone. You could bring Michael back into the story but the key is makin sure he ends up alone at the end, otherwise GF3 doesnt make any sense.

I dont know who that guy was you chose for Fredo, but he difinatly didly look like Cazale. I agree with everything Busta said.Also John had somethat of a higher voice, somewhat like Pesci's.Same with Pacino, hew had a soft voice w/ a NY accent.The actors chosen to play the younger guys got to at least be able to immitate the originals voice.Looks arent everything.
Some of your casting I agree with, so I dont.As for the story, most people know how I feel about the modern-day/Vinnie plot

Maybe this is where Carlo and Connie's kid comeback. It would be a great story to see him avenge his fathers death by takin over the whole family business. And I believe there is an orange by Michael when he dies. Maybe you could have it be the Godson who poisons the orange killing Michael just like Vito killed the man who killed his father at an old age. I know people dont like new characters but he really wouldnt be new. Hed finally just come out of hiding.

Thanks, good catch. My idea is that seeing Mary's murder would so deeply shock Kay as to drive her partly insane and completely out of character - instead of wanting safety and security she would adopt Michael's methods, and she be consumed with hate and a wish for revenge, and she would see Anthony (working with Michael and Vincent) as a way to get this revenge.

My choice for younger Michael is Michael Imperioli (Chrissy from The Sopranos), who I believe does resemble Al Pacino in the earlier scenes from GFI and does have a delivery reminiscent of Michael in the early scenes in GFI.

Young Fredo, believe it or not, is Dustin Diamond ("Screech" from Saved By The Bell ), who has the kind of gawky nerdy look you need for Fredo and most definitely a squeaky voice.

And I agree 100% with you on the concept of new characters- that's why in my little outline above, there is only one completely NEW character (Vincent's son Vito) - all the others are characters we already know exist from GF I , II and II (Santino Jr. and Michael Rizzo Corleone) who would simply be introduced into major roles.

In fact, we would go back and patch a couple of holes in the plot of GFII by using the flashback sequences to explain where Hyman Roth and Frank Pentangeli came from. (We would see Roth dealing in smuggled goods and gambling with Vito, helping to set up Moe Greene as the first kingpin in Vegas, and we would see Pentangeli as a tight paisan of both Vito and Clemenza and learn why he becomes a trusted old family friend.)

Nobody just 'appears' out of nowhere (a-la Vincent and Altobello in III, Roth and Pentangeli in II).

Plus, I tried to figure out somewhat plausible explanations as to where Santino Jr. and Mikey Corleone would have been in earlier chapters (i.e., 'living straight' and doing time in jail, respectively).


For instance, we know that Connie's kids were already getting in trouble with the law in 1958 in GF II (Michael tells her that one of her kids was picked up for shoplifting). So it would not be a stretch to think Mikey would grow up involved in crime - he was already headed that direction 25 years before.

P.S. _ I have Nic Cage as Michael (Rizzo) Corleone, the final Godfather.

Wahlberg I think would be a great choice as a younger Sonny. He resembles Jimmy Caan pretty closely and he has the aura of a young hair-trigger hotheaded punk that Sonny has to have.

I also have him playing Santino Jr. in the 80s/90s sequence (he'd have to be aged by the makeup artists, since Santino Jr. would be in his late 30s/early 40s by that time, while Santino sr. was only in his 20s in the 1930s sequence) and of course it's cheesy to double-cast like that, but if the alternativ is Leonardo DiCaprio...

Mark Wahlberg as a young Sonny Corleone, I could buy. DiCaprio? No way. Not even close. :rolleyes:

I agree in most regards so my idea for the 'modern-day' sequences would boil away most of the superflous plot ideas (that is, no Vatican/Immobilaire baloney), and concentrate almost completely on the relationships WITHIN the Corleone Family. (With Mary dead, thankfully the pseudo-incest romance subplot is gone.)

The family would face threats from other gang figures and from the Feds, but I wouldn't waste half the movie on a long involved subplot like the Vatican deal. :rolleyes:

As far as the 'flashback' sequences to the 1927-1941 era are concerned, we really don't need to make up much of anything new - we already know what sections of the original GF novel by Puzo havn't been covered in I, II and III, so the general outline of what would happen in the "flashback' story line is already pretty much set.

I'm sorry but I have to say this. Vincent is a prick! He is most;y for me why 3 was'nt as good as the first two.

Well, he wasn't the MAIN reason, but he definitely was a big one. Yeah, Vincent was mostly a jackass in GFIII, but in my version of GF IV his role would be much less central to the plot (and half his time won't be taken up in icky-poo attempts to seduce his cousin).

He also will be somewhat mellowed out after the Sicily shooting and the influences of his brother Santino Jr. and cousins Mikey and Anthony, and his wife Grace.

And his reckless tyrannical tendencies would be reined in shortly when he does something crazy and gets chewed out by the person who now holds the REAL power in the Corleone Family ... Connie.

Enzo

What about casting James Caan son Scott as a younger Sonny. I think he looks like him. Just a thought. :p

Yeah, hed fit the part pretty well I think too. I also forgot Leo Dicaprio was rumored to play the part who wouldnt be bad also.

I dunno, to me neither Scott Caan or Leo DiCaprio have a menacing-enough look for Sonny. I think Wahlberg really has that hard-ass look down and would be the best pick for the younger Sonny.

But another problem would be - what to do about the Santino Jr. part? Double-casting Wahlberg in both roles might work (with a good makeup job) but it would probably be better to cast one of the other guys as Young Sonny and then let Wahlberg play Santino Jr. in the 1980s/90s "epilogue" sequence.

Scott Caan is a poontz.(not to mention a midget,he's shorter than me,cmon! :p ) He DOES NOT have the acting skills or the "personal force" needed to be Sonny, but neither does DiCaprio.

Wahlberg could sound forceful, but not Italian. Caan at least looked and sounded Italian, Im not so sure Walhberg could do the same.

Imperioli was terrific in the latest episode of The Sopranos. When I watched that, I was convinced more than ever that he could play a slightly-younger Michael Corleone.

That is one of the only casts of your I like Enzo. (dont take offence)I think Imperiolli looks a lot like a young Pacino, and is a good enough actor to take on the role of Mike. However, the hight bothers me.(Sorry, I'm a prefectionist)

No problem, DSC

I just threw the casting ideas out to stir up some discussion and see if anybody else had any ideas.

I think Imperioli is only a couple inches different than Pacino in height but I'm not sure.

I think Wahlberg would be good as younger Sonny and I think his accent would be OK - he has that Southie Boston accent which is pretty close to the Noo Yawk accent Caan had in GF I.

Anyway just some ideas.

I like Christian Slater as Tom Hagen. He does look like a young Duvall.

Huh, I guess you were right Enzo. He's only 5'9". He looks a lot taller on the Sopranos.

Ehhh, I dunno about Wahlberg as an actor. I think he was pretty good in a couple of his movies. And since the two guys mentioned most often as alternate choices for young Sonny are Leonardo DiCaprio :rolleyes: and Scott Caan .. it's not like we're talking about Sir Laurence Olivier as competition....

I think DiCaprio is a very good actor. I would like to see him play Sonny. He might be a better Sonny than James Caan.

Haha better Sonny than Caan! What exactally do you want the "new and improved" Sonny to do?
And DV with a period-
I'm 5'6", I just thought Imperiolli was a lot taller, like 6'2" or 6'3"

This would work

There are similarities except hes just not that good looking. He seems kinda nerdy to me but maybe it would be a good way to show how Michael changed over the years. To me tho, hes just not Michael.

How bout that??? Pretty good to me

I would vomit if I saw Colin Farrell take any Corleone role, especially Michael's. The guy is a disgrace. Cute, yes, but a disgrace in every other way.
All of the suggestions made on this topic are sincere enough attempts, but I think THIS is why there never should be a GF4. Why mess with something perfect? Oh wait, that already happened with GF3. Ok, then, why mess further with something that used to be perfect?