While the filmmaker was already on the way to establishing his own legacy, Robert De Niro recalls how Martin Scorsese nearly directed The Godfather Part II. The second installment in Francis Ford Coppola’s iconic mafia movie trilogy marked one of De Niro’s first major roles alongside Scorsese’s Mean Streets, with the future Oscar winner playing a younger version of Marlon Brando’s Vito Corleone. Despite being given near-complete creative control over the sequel, stories have long swirled that Coppola suggested Scorsese take over directing it, only for Paramount to reportedly refuse the idea.

During an interview with GQ for the release of Zero Day, De Niro reflected on his experience making The Godfather Part II. When asked about the story of Scorsese nearly directing the mob sequel, the Oscar winner did confirm that Coppola had pitched the filmmaker’s name to the studio to take his place during his initial doubts about the film, and that while he thinks Scorsese could’ve been a good choice, he’s glad Coppola stuck with it. Check out what De Niro explained below:

Well, he might’ve suggested Marty at one point when he was having his own [doubts]. The way I understand it, I don’t know, I never talked to him about it. But I could see why he would think of Marty, of course, Marty would’ve been good to do it. But, I’m very happy Francis did it.

What Scorsese’s Hiring Would’ve Meant For The Godfather Part II

The Sequel Would’ve Been A Mᴀssive Undertaking For The Rising Director

While it’s never been made explicitly clear why Paramount wasn’t interested in bringing him onboard the sequel, it does seem likely the studio was more keen to keep Coppola in The Godfather Part II‘s director’s chair over Scorsese after the first movie’s success. At the time of its release, the original Godfather was the highest-grossing film of all-time, having reportedly brought in up to $291 million, on top of 10 Oscar nominations, for which it ended up winning three, including Best Picture, Best Actor for Brando and Best Adapted Screenplay for Coppola and author Mario Puzo.

One of the other likely reasons why Paramount was reluctant to bring on Scorsese to take the directing reins is that the former was still yet to become the household name that he is today. The year after the original’s release saw Scorsese break through with his and De Niro’s Mean Streets, but even still, had not made anything on the same epic scale as the Corleone-focused epic. While he would later get to do so with De Niro on everything from Goodfellas to The Irishman, the studio just may not have had the confidence in him at that time.

To De Niro’s point, Coppola remaining in the director’s chair for The Godfather Part II ultimately paid off for the movie. It may not have matched the same commercial heights of its predecessor, ultimately clocking in at $93 million worldwide against a budget nearly double that of the original, but it did surpᴀss the original critically, becoming the first sequel to win Best Picture at the Oscars along with five other trophies, including Best Director for Coppola, Best Supporting Actor for De Niro, Best Adapted Screenplay for Coppola and Puzo, Best Art Direction and Best Original Dramatic Score.

Our Take On Scorsese Not Directing The Godfather Part II

It Was The Right Call

As fantastic of a filmmaker as Scorsese was at the time, and has generally remained in the 50 years since, I think Coppola pᴀssing off the reins for The Godfather Part II would’ve been the wrong choice for the sequel. Many franchises have found themselves falter as they tried to bring in different filmmakers for each new installment, with the Star Wars sequel trilogy being one of the more notable recent examples, and while Scorsese likely would’ve still worked off of Coppola and Puzo’s script, having the former maintain complete creative control ensured an appropriate cohesion between films.

Source: GQ