The film has been referenced and parodied in various kinds of media.[281]
- John Belushi appeared in a Saturday Night Live sketch as Vito Corleone in a therapy session; he said of the Tattaglia Family, "Also, they shot my son Santino 56 times".[282]
- In the television show The Sopranos, Silvio Dante's topless bar is named Bada Bing!, a phrase popularized by James Caan's character Sonny Corleone in The Godfather.[23]
- In the animated television series The Simpsons, there have been many references to the film. For instance, in the season 3 episode "Lisa's Pony", Lisa wakes up to find a horse in her bed and starts screaming, a reference to Jack finding his prize racehorse's head in his bed. In the season 4 episode "Mr. Plow", Bart Simpson is pelted with snowballs in mimicry of Sonny's killing.[283][284][285]
- The film's baptism sequence was parodied in "Fulgencio", the 13th episode of season 4 of the comedy series Modern Family, with Phil Dunphy standing in for Michael. The sequence also references the horse head scene when Phil's son Luke places a severed zebra head in the bed of a boy who had been making fun of him and had a fear of zebras. Phil also references Godfather lines when he tells his wife Claire, "Don't ask me about my business," and mentions an offer he can't refuse.[286]
- The 2006 video game The Godfather is based upon this film and tells the story of an original character, Aldo Trapani, whose rise through the ranks of the Corleone family intersects with the plot of the film on numerous occasions.[287][288] Duvall, Caan, and Brando supplied voiceovers and their likenesses,[289] but Pacino did not.[289] Francis Ford Coppola openly voiced his disapproval of the game.[290]
- On April 28, 2022, a 10-episode drama series The Offer premiered on Paramount+, about the production told from the perspective of producer Ruddy.[291]
- An episode of the animated television series SpongeBob SquarePants entitled "The Goobfather" from the 13th season has many scenes that directly parody this film.
- The 2023 film Barbie, directed by Greta Gerwig, features a scene in which the characters watch The Godfather, with Ken, portrayed by Kingsley Ben-Adir, praising the film as a collective effort of Francis Ford Coppola and Robert Evans. A clip from The Godfather is also shown, showing Marlon Brando in the opening scene of the film.[292]
