The Godfather's Original Plan Would've Meant Another 10/10 Gangster Masterpiece Didn't Happen

Published Nov 10, 2026, 6:30 PM EST Nick Bythrow is a Lead Writer for ScreenRant. He has been writing for the site since September 2022. He graduated from Hampshire College in 2022, where he triple majored in Journalism, Communications, and Media Studies. When he's not writing about TV and movies for ScreenRant and his blog, Frayed Branches, Nick is penning speculative fiction and poetry on Amazon. He lives outside Boston, Massachusetts. The Godfather's original plan would have meant another perfect gangster movie never happened, making the change a worthwhile decision. The Godfather is considered one of the greatest gangster movies ever made. It follows the Corleone family and its ups and downs in the gangster world, with a particular focus on Michael Corleone (Al Pacino) and his transformation into a Mafia crime boss. Reviews for The Godfather were stellar upon its release, and have continued to be just as positive in the modern era. The movie was directed by Francis Ford Coppola, who at the time was best known for his positively-received movies like The Rain People and his commercial successes like Finian's Rainbow. But The Godfather was his big break, a movie that defined not only his career, but an entire generation of crime films that came after. It served as an inspiration for many of the mafia movies that came out in its wake, while also delivering plenty of standalone success that continues to make it beloved. However, Coppola wasn't the first director approached to adapt Mario Puzo's bestselling novel into a major motion picture. Paramount originally approached Sergio Leone to direct the film instead. At the time, Leone had made a name for himself with his Western movies, notably The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly, as well as Once Upon a Time in the West. Paramount had initially sought him out for the role of director, wanting him to bring The Godfather to life on the big screen. However, things didn't turn out in their favor. Sergio Leone Turned Down Making The Godfather Leone ultimately turned down making The Godfather, despite him being Paramount's first choice to make the movie. The studio ended up contacting a number of other directors in his stead, such as Richard Brooks, Arthur Penn, and Peter Yates, all of whom turned down the film. Ultimately, Coppola was hired on for a lower price tag, since The Rain People hadn't been a box office success. Coppola went on to direct the movie, co-writing it with Puzo, and making it into the masterpiece it's considered to this day. As for Leone, the core reason he turned down The Godfather was because he was in the middle of working on his own gangster movie, Once Upon a Time in America. Based on Harry Gray's semi-autobiographical novel The Hoods, Leone began development in the 1960s and 1970s, intending the adaptation to be the last of a trilogy about America. It wasn't until 1982 that the movie began filming, with the gangster movie ultimately getting released to critical acclaim in 1984. Sergio Leone's The Godfather Could've Been Great, But It Worked Out Even Better Leone's previous movies had already proven he would have been fantastic as The Godfather's director. In hindsight, Once Upon a Time in America is a crime epic in its own right, made through his signature style and featuring a compelling story of its own. Both of these attributes prove that Leone would have been perfect as the director of The Godfather, and still would have made a great movie had he agreed to it. Ultimately, however, that's not where his heart was at. But, even though he turned down the opportunity, Coppola's work on The Godfather is what made it into the beloved classic it still is to this day. Without him in the director's chair, the movie would have turned out differently, and ultimately, wouldn't have been the same as the masterpiece that ended up in theaters. The film's compelling history makes one wonder what could have been if Leone had decided to board it. However, everything turned out perfectly, with two gangster masterpieces getting released because of his decision.