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Could Francis Ford Coppola be pulled back in for another Godfather? Just when he thought he was out, a new Corleone family saga is arriving on bookshelves that could prove to be as tempting as a cannoli at Louis’.

Random House just won an eight-way auction for Connie, a new novel authorized by the Mario Puzo estate, written by best-selling Italian American author Adriana Trigiani. Due out fall 2027, the book will tell the story from the perspective of Don Vito’s only daughter. Film rights go to Paramount.

That last part is no accident. When Paramount bought the rights to Puzo’s original novel in 1969, it claimed ownership of the entire franchise, future books included. Puzo died in 1999, and after his heirs published two more Godfather novels over the studio’s objections, they ended up in court. The eventual settlement gave the family the freedom to publish new books, as long as Paramount gets first crack at the film rights. It wasn’t personal. It was strictly business.

The female POV may be the book’s biggest commercial asset. Hollywood is still processing the lessons of The Devil Wears Prada 2: that women, long underserved as an audience, will show up in enormous numbers for stories built around them.

Alas, a rep for Coppola tells Rambling it’s “unlikely” the 87-year-old director will be making a female-focused Godfather IV anytime soon. It’s a shame, since it turns out the original inspiration for Don Corleone — at least according to Puzo’s son Anthony — was Puzo’s mother.

Go figure, the whole thing was a matriarchy from the start.

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Also in Rambling Reporter:

An estate auction of the late Matthew Perry’s belongings begins next month.

This story appeared in the May 20 issue of The Hollywood Reporter magazine. Click here to subscribe.

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