Puzo started writing a script for a sequel in December 1971, before "The Godfather" was even released; its initial title was "The Death of Michael Corleone". Coppola's idea for the sequel would be to "juxtapose the ascension of the family under Vito Corleone with the decline of the family under his son Michael... I had always wanted to write a screenplay that told the story of a father and a son at the same age. They were both in their thirties and I would integrate the two stories... In order not to merely make "Godfather I" over again, I gave "Godfather II" this double structure by extending the story in both the past and in the present."