Better Call Saul, the prequel to Breaking Bad, will not feature Walter White and Jesse Pinkman.
During the Television Critics Association press tour on Saturday, the writing team behind the Breaking Bad spinoff revealed some very disappointing news to Walter White fans. During the address, Gilligan revealed whether Walt and Jesse will appear in the first season of Better Call Saul. According to Entertainment Weekly, they will not:
“In the spirit of full disclosure, Walt and Jesse will not appear in season 1,” Gould said. “Having said that, everything else is on the table.” Gould noted there’s a large board in theSaul writers’ room listing all the characters from Breaking Bad as potential script fodder.
Gilligan added: “The short answer is: The sky is the limit and any of these characters could conceivably show up in future seasons. But the intention is it will feel proper and organic, because if it feels like a stunt then something has gone terribly wrong in the writers’ room. Jesse will be tricky, because he’s so young [during the Better Call Saul timeline]. To be completely honest, I want to see them all eventually. There’s a constant tension of, ‘Man, this would be fun to do, but would it just be a stunt?’”
Gilligan and Gould also revealed how time will pass in the show, which largely takes place six years before Saul Goodman (Bob Odenkirk) meets Walter White, but the show will also feature elements occuring after the events of the original series.
“We don’t have all the answers yet,” said Gilligan. “Walter White had a very existential and very immediate problem — he was dying of cancer — that whole show felt by necessity that it had to be very accelerated storytelling. We don’t have that issue with Jimmy McGill.”
The cast of Better Call Saul includes Michael Mando (Nacho Varga), Michael McKean (Chuck McGill), Patrick Fabien (Howard Hamlin) and Rhea Seehorn (Kim Wexler).
“It’s a crazy ton of overlap because Vince Gilligan and Peter Gould are the brains behind it and the brains behind Breaking Bad,” said Odenkirk. “Tonally and storywise and expertise, it’s all carried over.”
“He wants to be good, but as you will see as the episodes progress [the question is] why does he want to be good?” asked Gilligan. “Does he want to be good because of his brother? Does he want to be good for Kim? The question we’re having fun with in the writers room is is it better to be true to yourself?” [via]
Better Call Saul will be getting a two-night series premiere at 10 p.m. on Sunday, Feb. 8 and Monday, Feb. 9. It will air on Mondays at 10 p.m. every week thereafter.
