Could there be another Breaking Bad spin-off?
We ask Better Call Saul co-creators Vince Gilligan and Peter Gould
Among the many questions mulled over by fans of Better Call Saul’s fanbase (what turns nice lawyer Jimmy into sleazy Saul? Will he ever get it together with Kim? And what possesses him to wear those awful shirts in the future?), one must loom high: could the success of the series mean that there’ll be other spin-offs from parent programme Breaking Bad?
Well, we may now have the answer – because we put the question to Breaking Bad creator and Better Call Saul co-creator Vince Gilligan, who said that the idea had definitely crossed his mind when working on the newer series.
“You know it’s funny, I was answering a question earlier today, why Saul and not another character like Jesse Pinkman and why not Gustavo Fring?” Gilligan told RadioTimes.com. “I could absolutely see a series about all these characters.”
However, fans shouldn’t be rejoicing just yet – because Gilligan says he’s actually very wary about creating another spin-off.
“I have a hard time picturing us actually doing that, not because the characters couldn’t carry their own shows, they absolutely could in my opinion,” Gilligan said.
“Just because at a certain point, I fear it would begin to smack of…we’re chewing our cud twice, we’re going to the well a bit too much.
“I love this universe that Walter White lives in and Saul Goodman lives in. I love this universe with this fictional Alberquerque in New Mexico, but there are other stories I’d like to tell personally.
“I guess the short answer is never say never but I don’t think we are spending a lot of time thinking about additional spin-offs because I think we want to get through this show, we want to make it as good as we can and we want to maintain its integrity from start to finish. We don’t want our reach to exceed our grasp.”
With that said, there might still be hope for Breaking Bad viewers hoping to see their favourite characters again, as Better Call Saul co-creator Peter Gould went on to explain.
“Another aspect of this is that we still have in Better Call Saul, we have this universe of characters from Breaking Bad many of whom could conceivably make an appearance or be very important players in Better Call Saul,” he told us.
“Who knows, maybe going forward you might see other characters play a role.”
If we’re to believe hints Better Call Saul star Bob Odenkirk has given us about Breaking Bad cameos, he could well be right…
Better Call Saul episode 2 is now streaming on Netflix
Authors
Huw Fullerton is a Commissioning Editor for Radio Times magazine, covering Entertainment, Comedy and Specialist Drama.
