Shortly prior to The Godfather‘s release, Al Pacino and Robert De Niro swapped places for a totally separate gangster movie, and cinematic history would have played out very differently if they hadn’t. Unquestionably among the greatest movies of all time, The Godfather forged careers for almost everyone involved. One especially notable beneficiary of The Godfather‘s success was a young, up-and-coming actor by the name of Al Pacino. While Pacino’s performance in The Panic in Needle Park earned him a foot in Hollywood’s door, he had still only appeared in two feature films before taking the career-defining role of Michael Corleone.

History repeated for The Godfather Part II‘s cast, this time with Robert De Niro as young Vito Corleone. De Niro had formed early working relationships with future legends Brian De Palma and Martin Scorsese even before starring in Francis Ford Coppola’s celebrated sequel, but was yet to truly transcend into Hollywood’s big leagues. As the original movie did for Al Pacino two years earlier, The Godfather Part II gave De Niro his first truly standout performance. Also like Pacino, it would be one of many. Not long before The Godfather, however, Pacino and De Niro’s respective paths were heading elsewhere.

Robert De Niro Replaced Al Pacino In The Gang That Couldn’t Shoot Straight

A Bullet Dodged For Al Pacino

Around the time The Godfather started production, another gangster movie was also in the pipeline. Called The Gang That Couldn’t Shoot Straight, the film was lighthearted in tone – an old-fashioned crime caper and a million miles from the atmosphere and aesthetic Francis Ford Coppola employed with The Godfather the following year. Despite the two movies having as much in common as Luca Brasi and Mr. Bean, production on The Gang That Couldn’t Shoot Straight crossed over with the making of The Godfather on several occasions.

These rival gang movies started ʙuттing heads when Francis Ford Coppola settled on Al Pacino as his perfect Michael Corleone. Pacino wanted the gig, but had already agreed to play Mario Trantino in The Gang That Couldn’t Shoot Straight. Coppola ultimately won the Pacino tug-of-war, with the actor switching over to The Godfather and duly delivering one of cinema’s most memorable performances. Curiously, The Godfather/The Gang That Couldn’t Shoot Straight connection continued, as the actor who stepped into Pacino’s shoes was none other than his future onscreen father, Robert De Niro.

The Gang That Couldn’t Shoot Straight was poorly received upon release and hasn’t aged especially well, but Robert De Niro’s turn as Mario Trantino possesses the clear hallmarks of a future star in need of better material. From Pacino’s perspective, the swap might have been the wisest decision he ever made, leaving behind a forgettable critical flop for a movie many still consider the greatest in history.

Robert De Niro Actually Dropped Out Of The Godfather To Lead The Gang That Couldn’t Shoot Straight

They Made De Niro An Offer He Absolutely Could Refuse

The connective tissue between gangster movies runs deeper still – just as Al Pacino quit The Gang That Couldn’t Shoot Straight for The Godfather, Robert De Niro quit The Godfather for The Gang That Couldn’t Shoot Straight. As explained in The Godfather Treasures by Peter Cowie, De Niro had been circling Francis Ford Coppola’s Corleone saga long before the 1974 sequel, initially auditioning for Sonny before losing out to James Caan. Impressing nonetheless, De Niro was offered the smaller role of Paulie – the Corleone turncoat who gets ᴀssᴀssinated just before Clemenza’s iconic “leave the gun, take the cannoli” line.

De Niro understandably opted for the meatier part, and The Godfather‘s Paulie was instead portrayed by John Martino. After both movies were released, Robert De Niro would have been forgiven for ruing his decision somewhat, but it was difficult to argue that the eventual outcome wasn’t the right one. James Caan was clearly the sensible choice as Sonny, and De Niro added another leading gangster movie role to his collection – arguably more useful to his résumé than a fleeting appearance in a superior movie.

Fortunately for De Niro, his decision was fully justified when Coppola came calling about The Godfather Part II. The true reward for turning down the part of Paulie wasn’t being able to star in The Gang That Couldn’t Shoot Straight, but being able to star in The Godfather Part II two years down the road.

Movie History Could’ve Gone Very Differently Without This Change

The Pacino/De Niro Switch Was A Key Moment In Hollywood’s Development

In an alternate universe where Al Pacino decided to honor his original commitment and remain with The Gang That Couldn’t Shoot Straight, movie history would have taken an entirely different path. Without Pacino, the Michael Corleone role would have fallen to one of the other young actors considered at the time, which included Dustin Hoffman, Martin Sheen (via The Godfather Family: A Look Inside), and Ryan O’Neal (via The Annotated Godfather: The Complete Screenplay by Jenny M. Jones). All of the above are talented stars, but it’s impossible to imagine anyone else playing Michael Corleone quite like Al Pacino did.

Without Pacino in the saga’s anchoring role, The Godfather would surely shed a degree of luster. Not enough to suddenly make the film terrible, of course, but perhaps enough that it wouldn’t still be considered one of the greatest films ever made 50 years later. Pacino himself, meanwhile, loses out on the role of a lifetime. Being deprived of his experience as Michael Corleone could mean later gangster roles in Scarface and Heat never come, sending the actor down a very different career route, albeit not necessarily a less successful one.

Without an Al Pacino-shaped hole in The Gang Who Couldn’t Shoot Straight‘s cast, Robert De Niro would have been left playing Paulie in The Godfather, ruling him out as an option for the younger Vito Corleone in The Godfather Part II. Again, De Niro’s Vito performance is so timeless that anyone else in that same spot would’ve struggled to match it, meaning Coppola’s sequel becoming yet another beloved gangster classic is not guaranteed.

De Niro would have been forced to wait a little longer for his mainstream breakthrough, but missing out on The Godfather Part II needn’t affect his career trajectory too much. By this time, the actor had already worked with Martin Scorsese on Mean Streets, and being cast as Travis Bickle potentially had more to do with that established partnership than The Godfather Part II. Starring in Taxi Driver, Robert De Niro would then have been nominated for the Best Actor Oscar, and the fact that he played Paulie in The Godfather would simply become movie trivia quiz fodder for the next 50 years.

Sources: The Godfather Treasures (Peter Cowie), The Godfather Family: A Look Inside, The Annotated Godfather: The Complete Screenplay (Jenny M. Jones).