It’s good news for fans of The Godfather, and really, crime noir fans everywhere. A new Corleone crime family novel is slated for publication in 2027, decades after the last movie was released and nearly 10 years after the debut of the last Corleone novel. Per Random House, which spoke with The Associated Press, the publishing house has acquired a Godfather novel, one authorized by Mario Puzo’s estate, the writer of the original novels, and written by bestselling author Adriana Trigiani (The View from Lake Como).
There will be something different about this next book, though, as it bucks a trend carried over throughout the rest of the series: it centers on a woman. The novel is titled Connie and will focus on the character played by Talia Shire in the Godfather films, Connie Corleone, Michael Corleone’s sister. While one of three novels that have received the green light from the Puzo estate, Connie is not only the first to be from a woman’s point of view, but also the first to be written by a woman.
In a statement, Trigiani said about the newest addition to the Corleone crime family novels, “Connie is a novel about how a woman works to forge her own way in a world that’s already decided who she is, what she’s about, and how she should be treated. People underestimated Don Vito Corleone and Michael Corleone at their peril. The same will be true for Connie Corleone.” And it seems that Paramount holds the film rights for the novels—a promising notion for fans of the movies, though things have been tense between the Puzo estate and Paramount for years now over who controls the rights to the Corleone characters. After a suit and countersuit, the two sides reached a settlement that allowed the estate to continue initiating book projects and gave the studio the film rights to future projects.
And when it comes to how Trigiani was brought into the scene, it seems fans have Substack to thank. The bestselling author had written an essay about how little was known about the women of the Corleone family, which prompted the Puzo estate to reach out to her. Anthony Puzo, Mario’s son, said in a statement, “We had been looking for someone to retell the story from a new perspective. Adriana was knocked out when I told her that the character of Vito Corleone (played in the films by Brando and De Niro) was actually based on my grandmother. We talked about how the women ran both of our families, but behind the scenes. Adriana’s vision for Connie’s life blew us all away. I’m very pleased and excited to have her on board.”
Are you looking forward to this next step into the Corleone’s world? Let us know your thoughts in the comments. And don’t forget to check out the ComicBook forum to keep the conversation going with other fans.
