Godfather' prequel novel arriving in 2012

How did “The Godfather’s” Vito Corleone become Don Corleone? A new prequel to the best-selling novel aims to answer that question. (Well, presumably whatever questions are still left after "Godfather II.")

“The Family Corleone,” to be published by Grand Central Publishing, will be based on an unproduced screenplay written by “Godfather” author Mario Puzo, who passed away in 1999.

This novel will be written by novelist and playwright Ed Falco (who also happens to be the uncle of former “Sopranos” star Edie Falco, according to the Los Angeles Times.)

Puzo’s son Tony commends Falco for writing “a novel that is true to Mario Puzo’s legacy, and will be cherished by all ‘Godfather’ fans.” Adds publisher Jamie Raab, "Ed Falco thrillingly brings back Puzo’s classic characters in a prequel that both honors the original, and stands on its own as a 'Godfather' novel for a new generation of readers.”

We'll have to wait until June 2012 to see if they're right.

Set in 1933, “The Family Corleone” will explore the “unknown history” of the mafia don, prior to Corleone's rise to power, but it's not the first time another writer has taken a stab at the series. In 2004, the novel "The Godfather Returns" by Mark Winegardner was published and told the backstory of Vito's youngest son and successor, Michael Corleone.

The original “Godfather” was published in 1969 and went on to sell more than 21 million copies