Why Robert DuVall's Tom Hagen Didn't Return In The Godfather Part III

Despite his evident importance to the franchise, DuVall did not return in The Godfather Part III, and was the only major surviving character to be omitted. Dialogue explained that Tom Hagen died sometime between The Godfather Part II and Part III due to illness, not some nefarious mafia activity as one might assume. The real-life reason Robert DuVall declined The Godfather Part III, however, isn't quite as straightforward.

Robert DuVall Didn't Appear In The Godfather Part III Due To A Contract Dispute

It Wasn't Personal, Just Business

Cutting Tom Hagen was not a creative decision that Francis Ford Coppola made with any degree of intention. Indeed, The Godfather Part III's director had a meaty role planned for DuVall had he agreed to partake. Unfortunately, money got in the way. Both DuVall and Coppola have separately confirmed that the two sides were unable to reach a suitable financial arrangement, negotiations broke down, and Tom Hagen's entire role in The Godfather Part III was nixed.

According to Coppola in The Godfather Part III's DVD commentary, Robert DuVall was seeking more money than was on offer. DuVall himself elaborated during a 2004 60 Minutes interview, explaining that the disparity between his salary and Al Pacino's was a point of contention, and while DuVall didn't expect to be paid at the same level as the movie's main star, the gap between those two offers was simply too great.

The Godfather Part III Replaced Tom Hagen With A Side Character

I Can't Believe It's Not Tom Hagen!

Signs of Tom Hagen's lost role in The Godfather Part III can be seen in George Hamilton's character, B.J. Harrison. Serving as Michael Corleone's chief legal advisor throughout the movie, Harrison broadly served the same in-universe purpose Tom Hagen did, but on a functional level only. Harrison's paper-shuffling and legal jargon kept The Godfather Part III's plot moving, since it would be unrealistic to have Michael doing his own admin, but the attorney was never a fully-realized creation.

B.J. Harrison had very little characterization and no personal arc to speak of. He was simply there, providing exposition and serving the larger narrative. Tom Hagen performed such duties in The Godfather and The Godfather Part II, but those movies also explored his morality, his loyalty to the Corleone family, his friendship with Michael, and the fact he was routinely viewed as an outsider by the wider mafia. B.J. Harrison enjoyed none of that exploration or intrigue, making him a replacement for Tom Hagen in a superficial sense only.

Tom Hagen Was Sorely Missed In The Godfather Part III

One Problem Coppola's Alternate Cut Couldn't Fix

The Godfather Part III infamously paled in comparison to its predecessors, and while its reputation has improved thanks to Francis Ford Coppola's alternate cut, The Death of Michael Corleone, the trilogy's final act remains a clear low point. The loss of Robert DuVall as Tom Hagen was one of the biggest reasons behind that fall from grace. Hagen was never the focal point of The Godfather, but he provided balance between the other main characters. From being the Corleones' voice of reason in The Godfather, DuVall's character occupied the middle ground between Michael and Fredo in The Godfather Part II.

Tom Hagen became something of a grounded, relatable figure in a sea of larger-than-life criminals. After Michael's transformation into the new don, the Corleones' attorney was the closest thing The Godfather had to an audience representative - a character who talked and acted more like the average person than the boss of a crime empire. Without Tom Hagen, The Godfather Part III - which already featured Michael taking on the Catholic church - felt far more outlandish.

Despite its status as Hollywood's premier gangster movie, The Godfather is more about family than it is the mafia. That's less true for The Godfather Part III, largely because Tom Hagen isn't in it. Michael's family only consisted of an estranged Kay, a resurgent Connie, and The Godfather's underrated Al Neri. Beyond those three, the remaining cast is fleshed out by newcomers. If Robert DuVall had returned, The Godfather Part III would likely have delved into Michael and Tom's bond as the last two original family members standing, and tension probably would have arisen between the two mafia veterans.

As it was, Michael had no one to answer to in The Godfather Part III, making for a much less compelling family dynamic. Connie aside, everyone either worked for Michael or hated him, but Tom's presence would have offered the threequel a much-needed secondary figure of gravitas, almost on par with Al Pacino's character. It's just a shame that Robert DuVall's paycheck wasn't.