It wasn't supposed to be – Coppola made it because Paramount said either he could make it, or they could give it to someone else, but they were going ahead with

It wasn't supposed to be – Coppola made it because Paramount said either he could make it, or they could give it to someone else, but they were going ahead with a trilogy. Coppola and Puzo wanted it to be its own film, titled "The Death of Michael Corleone," and believed (rightly) that a duology of Godfather films based on the original novel was the right decision.