10 Movie Characters That Were Written Out In Dumb Ways

Robert Duvall's Michael Hagen was one of the most important characters in the first two Godfather movies. Hagen met Sonny Corleone as a child and was taken in by his family.

Becoming Don Vito's adopted son, Tom also became the family lawyer. While not a natural Italian, his counsel proved to be helpful to his father and eventually, his brother Michael.

As the new Don's brothers were killed throughout the two films, Tom was left as the last one. By the end of The Godfather Part II, Michael decided to cut ties with his adopted sibling which would be the last time audiences would see the character.

In The Godfather Part III, Tom was revealed to have passed away with little to no explanation. The true reason was because Robert Duvall refused to reprise the role. Initially planned as a confrontation between Michael and Tom, Duvall's exit meant changes to the story. Because of this, Hagen was killed off and a substitute was written into the film.

With the actor's talent and the character's importance, his absence was felt in The Godfather Part III.