Breaking Bad creator and showrunner Vince Gilligan gave an extensive interview about upcoming series Better Call Saul to the Television Critics Association over the weekend. Gilligan, along with producer Peter Gould, shared a hefty number of details regarding the upcoming spinoff. And AMC was kind enough to release new photos. Get ready for information:
Bob Odenkirk as Saul Goodman in a scene from “Better Call Saul.”
-Bob Odenkirk, who co-starred on Breaking Bad as sheister lawyer Saul Goodman, will take a turn as star for the new series. That is old news. The new news is that when we first meet Saul on his own show, he goes by the name Jimmy McGill, and is “a small-time lawyer searching for his destiny.” So we can expect some Mad Men–style backstory as to how the “Saul” persona comes to life.
–Breaking Bad fixture and favorite Johnathan Banks will reprise his role as gruff fixer Mike Ehrmantraut.
-Among the new cast members: Saturday Night Live alum, Christopher Guest favorite and Airheads mainstay Michael McKean will portray McGill / Goodman’s brother Chuck.
Odenkirk and Michael McKean, having a good, old-fashioned, brotherly showdown.
-The series will be set in 2002, and will jump both forward and backward in time. This means it could, potentially, incorporate subplots that take place around the time of Breaking Bad, which began its real-time run six years later. Which means…
-…There’s a possibility that Bryan Cranston will reprise his role as Walter White. But don’t hold your breath. According to Gilligan, “If it makes sense we’ll do it; if it doesn’t make sense we won’t.” Which should be interpreted as: Don’t expect a cameo just for the sake of one. Breaking Bad proved that Gilligan is nothing if not committed to story.
-There’s also a possibility that Giancarlo Esposito will return as villain and White victim Gus Fring. Again, though, don’t count on it. Here’s Peter Gould on that possibility:
These are all characters we love and with Gus there is so much more to say about that character, and we certainly love Giancarlo… Although in the series it always seemed to me that Saul didn’t know Gus directly. He knew a guy who knew a guy.
Vince Gilligan, holding one of the many, many awards he won for Breaking Bad.
AMC recently announced it was pushing “Saul”‘s debut back to 2015. Now we know why: Gilligan, in his own words, is “slow as mud as a TV writer.”
What do you think? Is this a good move for AMC? Is there still fuel left in the Breaking Bad tank? Or have you already moved on from the meth-laced underbelly of Albuquerque? Share your thoughts on the upcoming series by leaving a comment below.
