What Year The Godfather 4 Would Be Set In (If It Continued Vincent Corleone’s Story)

Paramount was originally developing The Godfather 4 following the success of The Godfather Part III, and it could still work, but the movie has a time-setting issue that it needs to overcome. 1972’s The Godfather is a masterful period movie based mostly 27 years earlier in 1945. 1974’s The Godfather Part II was even more ambitious, and while it’s partly set in 1958, half of the movie is set in the 1910s as it follows Vito Corleone setting up his empire in New York. The sequel even ends on a flashback to 1941, and there are even scenes that take place in 1901 when Vito first migrates to New York.

The Godfather Part IV’s story would have used the same format as The Godfather Part II by being part prequel, part sequel. While the trilogy was about Michael Corleone (Al Pacino), the fourquel would have been about Vincent Corleone (Andy Garcia), who was a supporting character in The Godfather Part III, taking over the family business. However, that narrative would have been intercut with his father, Sonny Corleone (originally played by James Caan), making a name for himself in the early 1940s and earning the hotheaded notoriety he has in The Godfather. There’s no reason why The Godfather 4 can’t happen today, but its period setting could be a problem.

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The Godfather 4 Would Have To Be Set In 2013

While the first two The Godfather movies are set in the 1940s and 1950s, The Godfather Part III is set in 1979. Andy Garcia was 34 years old when The Godfather Part III was released on December 25, 1990, and Vincent’s date of birth is sometime in 1948, putting the character at 31 in the movie too. Over 30 years after the movie’s release, Garcia is now 67. If The Godfather Part IV was released today, the movie would have to have a period setting of around 2013. However, based on Vincent’s age and the fact that Garcia could be made to look younger, the movie could be set in 2010.

The Godfather 4’s Timeline Further Proves It Shouldn’t Happen

The Godfather Part III is set in 1979, which is already somewhat jarring given how modern it looks compared to the first two’s 1940s and 1950s/1910s-set movies. Given that the first two The Godfather movies are period pieces, The Godfather Part III is set just 11 years before its release date, which hardly makes it a period piece. While The Godfather Part III had a lot of problems, this was one unavoidable issue, and because of its relatively modern setting compared to its predecessors, the threequel didn’t totally feel like a Godfather movie. The Godfather Part IV would have the same issue.

The Godfather Part IV setting would be way too modern, especially as the world in 2010 wasn’t all that different from the world in 2023. Although Garcia could pass as a 60-year-old Vincent, which is the same age Michael is in The Godfather Part III, the movie’s setting would still have a relatively modern 2006 setting. However, given the studio’s original plan of intercutting The Godfather 4 with Sonny in the 1940s, that could offset some of the fourquel’s modern-day challenges. Nevertheless, it’s still a difficult challenge, and between the absence of Pacino and bringing the franchise into the 21st Century, The Godfather 4 would ultimately be a huge mistake.