Francis Ford Coppola has stated that he is “done” with The Godfather film franchise. The latest movie called Mario Puzo’s The Godfather Coda: The Death of Michael Corleone was originally named The Godfather: Part III in 1990 and is the conclusion to the trilogy of the franchise.
The new edit of the film has a different ending, but still allegedly captures Coppola’s original vision. “Me and ‘The Godfather’ are done now,” Coppola tells The Guardian. “There is more that [screenwriter] Mario Puzo wrote that we never used. But I don’t own ‘The Godfather,’ Paramount owns ‘The Godfather,’ and they may well decide to make more films. I feel that I’ve made my trilogy. I have other fish to fry.”
Francis Ford Coppola wants to keep delving into new film ground
Coppola also shares that it has been “freeing” to finally release the new film. “Releasing a movie is like following a sports team,” he says. “You always sigh. Relief always follows the release of a movie, even if it’s a feeling of despondency.”
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He’s also made it abundantly clear that he’s moved on from the franchise and does not plan to release any more. “I want to make a film about the future,” he explains. “You know the Alfred, Lord Tennyson quote? ‘For I dipt into the future, far as human eye could see, saw the vision of the world, and all the wonder that would be…’ That’s the movie I want to make. It would be called ‘Megalopolis.’”
A lot of love and appreciation for the making of the franchise
He continues, “I’m 81 so I hope I have enough years to make it. I want to give the children of the world a vision of the future that is beautiful. That is positive. That is a heaven on Earth because I really think we can have that.”
Coppola delves into the creative process of the latest movie a bit more. “For this version of the finale, I created a new beginning and ending, and rearranged some scenes, shots and music cues. With these changes and the restored footage and sound, to me, it is a more appropriate conclusion to ‘The Godfather‘ and ‘The Godfather: Part II’ and I’m thankful to Jim Gianopulos and Paramount for allowing me to revisit it.”