The Godfather: Unpublished Francis Ford Coppola letter reveals Marlon Brando turned down role in sequel

He made him an offer he could refuse

Francis Ford Coppola tried and failed to make Marlon Brando an offer he couldn’t refuse ahead of the The Godfather Part II, it’s been revealed.

Coppola, who recently branded Marvel films “despicable”, wanted Brando to play the young version of his character Vito Corleone in the sequel, but the actor declined the part.

In a newly surfaced letter, written in May 1973 and obtained by The Daily Mail, Coppola insisted that The Godfather Part II “[couldn’t] be made without” Brando.

“Marlon, I respect you enormously; and if you told me that you did not want to do it... I would accept that, and never mention it again,” the director wrote.

The role eventually went to Robert De Niro, who was 19 years younger then Brando at the time. He went on to win an Oscar for Best Supporting Actor.

De Niro, who appeared in Joker, will next be seen in Martin Scorsese’s mob drama The Irishman. It’ll be released theatrically on 8 November before its addition to Netflix on 28 November.

Coppola recently told journalists in Lyon: “When Scorsese says that the Marvel pictures are not cinema, he’s right because we expect to learn something from cinema, we expect to gain something, some enlightenment, some knowledge, some inspiration.”

He continued: “Martin was kind when he said it’s not cinema. He didn’t say it’s despicable, which I just say it is.”