... money issues (?) prevented brando from returning to play vito corleone in the godfather sequel ...

... according to the liner notes for the fourth k, Mario Puzo won oscars for both his adaptations of the godfather. he did more than one adaptation of the godfather?

... so one wonders if puzo and coppola wrote a version of the godfather part 2 with brando in mind ruling his mafia empire?

... woulda been awesome if brando had done the godfather part 2 ...

Vito (Mature Vito) was never a main character in GF 2. He was to appear in the flashback scene at the end (when Michael announces that he joined the Marines). When Paramount couldn't come to terms with Brando, the scene was rewritten for James Caan and his "break your father's heart on his birthday" speech.

As far as I know Brando was also considered to play young Vito in "Godfather 2", but he had gained to much weight.