Film pioneer David Zucker deliberates on his concept for Airplane 2's rejection by Francis Ford Coppola.
In 1980, the comedy film Airplane made over $170 million at the box office, a significant sum at the time. Fast forward to the late 1980s, and there were plans for a sequel that never came to fruition due to the objections of a notable figure in the film industry.
The proposed concept for Airplane II: The Godfather was an intriguing blend of the original Airplane characters and the iconic mafia family dynamics from The Godfather. The plot revolved around Robert Hays and Julie Hagerty's characters, with the latter meeting the former's family ahead of a wedding, all while spoofing the classic mafia saga.
However, Francis Ford Coppola, the director of the original Godfather trilogy, was not in favour of this concept. He reportedly advised Paramount not to proceed with the spoof, effectively preventing the sequel idea from moving forward. Despite the studio's interest and David Zucker's enthusiasm for the project, the idea was shelved.
Instead, a different sequel titled Airplane II: The Sequel was made without the original creators. Hayes and Hagerty reprised their roles, along with a few other cast members, but the sequel did not enjoy the same success as its predecessor, doing a fraction of the business.
Despite the unmade sequel, Airplane remains the standard against which other spoof movies are compared. David Zucker, one of the creators of Airplane, went on to have a successful career making other spoof movies, including the Naked Gun franchise.
Recently, Zucker launched an online course called MasterCrash, outlining the rules of making a good spoof movie. In the course, Zucker shares his thoughts on his career and comedy, possibly reflecting on the unrealized sequel to Airplane.
Despite the unmade sequel, Airplane II was made, but it did not live up to the expectations set by the original. Reviews for the film were mostly middling to slightly negative, and it did not achieve the same level of success as the original.
In retrospect, the unmade Airplane II: The Godfather serves as a reminder of the potential thematic twist the original team behind Airplane had envisioned, but were blocked by licensing or creator rights concerns stemming from Coppola's objections.
[1] IMDb. (n.d.). Airplane II: The Sequel. Retrieved from https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0095515/ [2] IMDb. (n.d.). Airplane!. Retrieved from https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0083852/ [3] IMDb. (n.d.). The Godfather: Part III. Retrieved from https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0096447/
- In the realm of entertainment, David Zucker's online course, MasterCrash, offers insights into the rules of making a successful spoof movie, potentially reflecting on the unrealized thematic blend of 'Airplane' and 'The Godfather' that could have been 'Airplane II: The Godfather'.
- Over the years, 'movies-and-tv' enthusiasts continue to compare new spoof movies to the original 'Airplane', and the unmade sequel serves as a reminder of the intriguing 'daily blend' of comedy genres that could have graced the box office, had it not been for licensing or creator rights concerns.
