Puzo also wrote the second novel, The Sicilian, which was released in 1984, and was made into a film (with Godfather references removed) in 1987.
The first novel remained on The New York Times Best Seller list for 67 weeks and sold over nine million copies in the two years following its release.
The Godfather Part II, released in 1974, also adapts elements from the first novel – mostly the early life of Vito Corleone.
[2] Due to copyright issues, all Godfather references were removed and the characters of Michael Corleone and Peter Clemenza were not included in the film.
[3] This has been resolved, with Paramount gaining the rights to make more Godfather films (as of early 2020, no plans had been announced).