Duvall Returns to 'Godfather' Franchise

Too much merchandising can saturate the classiness of a film, but I still think any actor who has played an iconic character should stick with that role through and through. Decades ago I was down for any movie star reprising a role for an animated spin-off (Mary Steenburgen, you're constantly giving me reasons to love you), and today I support anybody who follows his or her character to the world of video games. So, regardless of whether or not Francis Ford Coppola approves, kudos to Robert Duvall for being involved with Electronic Arts' upcoming game version of The Godfather II.

While other actors from the Godfather sequel have at least allowed their likenesses to be represented, just as they had with The Godfather: The Game before, Duvall's role in the game is more significant. Variety reports that his character, Tom Hagen, features prominently as an adviser to the player, and Duvall is recording new voiceover dialogue for this purpose. As with the first game, Al Pacino has chosen to not be involved (he's obviously holding out for that Scent of a Woman game to mark his video game voice work debut).

Most disappointing, though, is that there's no flashback scenes in the Godfather Part II game. Who wouldn't like to play the scene with young Vito on the rooftops? OK, so it would probably be a simple, action-less level (Electronic Arts senior VP-general manager Nick Earl says the flashbacks "don't really work for a game"), but I think it'd still be cool. Besides, I'm curious as to DeNiro's attitude on voicing video game characters.

The Godfather II: The Game (as I'm assuming the title will be) will be available for PC, Playstation 3 and Xbox 360 in February. Other consoles could get a version of the game later in 2009.