10 More Important Movie Characters Who Were Killed Off Screen
7. Tom Hagen - The Godfather Part III
To say that The Godfather and The Godfather Part II are widely regarded as two of the greatest movies ever made, the downgrade to The Godfather Part III is infamous. There were many factors at play of course, but one of the most obvious differences between the threequel and its predecessors was the omission of Robert Duvall's Tom Hagen.
Though not Sicilian, Hagen was like a son to Vito Corleone (Marlon Brando), he was treated like a brother by Vito's children, and he was vitally important to the Corleone family, even after Michael (Al Pacino) demoted him from being Consiglieri. And yet, the character was killed off before the events of the third film, a fact that was barely touched upon in the story itself, with his role in the family being taken by B.J. Harrison (George Hamilton).
The real reason for this was because of salary disputes between Robert Duvall and director Francis Ford Coppola, which ultimately robbed the series' third movie of one of its best characters.
A similar thing happened with Richard Castellano, who did not return in The Godfather Part II as Peter Clemenza thanks to his reported demands of money and creative control over his character's dialogue depending on whose story you believe - though you could argue that Duvall and Hagen were missed considerably more.