Just when we think we’re out of movies for directors to re-edit this year, they pull us back in (with another movie that a director is re-editing). That very clever and hilarious Godfather joke is a reference to the fact that—like Zack Snyder and Sylvester Stallone before him—Francis Ford Coppola has spent the summer cutting together a new version of one of his movies, specifically The Godfather: Part III. This is part of a trend for Coppola, since he previously put together improved versions of Apocalypse Now, Tucker, and The Cotton Club, but this one seems like the most dramatic update.
As reported by The Film Stage, Coppola has given the movie a new beginning and new ending, rearranged some scenes, and added new music cues. Also, he has given it a new title that is “an acknowledgement” of the “original intentions” that he and Godfather book author Mario Puzo had for the third movie in the trilogy. Say goodbye to The Godfather: Part III, say hello to—deep breath—Mario Puzo’s The Godfather, Coda: The Death Of Michael Corleone. It’s a mouthful, certainly, but it is weirdly snappy. Doesn’t Mario Puzo’s The Godfather, Coda: The Death Of Michael Corleone sound like a much more exciting movie than that boring old title? Plus, it clearly and purposefully separates it from the first two movies, indicating that it’s more of an addendum to the original two movies than the third installment in a trilogy. It wouldn’t make any sense for that story, but imagine if you had two Star Wars movies and then George Lucas’ Star Wars, Coda: The Death Of Darth Vader. That sounds like a much better movie!
The new version of Godfather: Part III will have a limited theatrical release in December, and then it will be released on home video.