What follows according to Puzo and Coppola is not exactly known. However, on The Godfather Part III's DVD commentary, Coppola explains that both he and Puzo had envisioned a fourth part to the saga, one storyline of which would deal with Vincent's running of the Corleone family. Vincent, in antagonism to the 'morals' of his predecessors, was to have involved the family in filthy businesses including drug dealing, driving the Corleone clan into corruption, sleaze and their eventual decline, with Vincent finally being hunted down and killed in a manner similar to the death of columbian drug lord Pablo Escobar.

The character of Vincent Corleone was said by Coppola to, roughly speaking, amalgamate the males of the Corleone Family. Whilst this concept is arguable among fans, Coppola describes Vincent as having the cunning of Vito, the ruthlessness of Michael, the sensitivity of Fredo and the fiery temper of Sonny.