Better Call Saul will be a prequel. Mostly. Maybe. The Breaking Bad spinoff starring Bob Odenkirk as the morally questionable attorney Saul Goodman is still taking shape. Breaking Bad creator Vince Gilligan and writer/producer Peter Gould are hard at work on the series, making sure the pieces fit into place.
"We think, by and large, this show will be a prequel, but the wonderful thing about the fractured chronology we employed on Breaking Bad for many years is the audience will not be thrown by us jumping around in time," Gilligan told Entertainment Weekly. "So it's possible that we may indeed do that, and we'll see the past and perhaps the future."
In November, Odenkirk told IGN that the show could be a "mix of prequel and sequel." Gilligan said nothing is "written in stone yet," but he and Gould are tackling one key potential problem: Saul Goodman is a "happy-go-lucky guy" and that does not make for dramatic TV. "When I say drama, even in a comedy, you want drama, you want tension and conflict, and a character that at heart seems at peace with himself is intrinsically undramatic...So we've been thinking about how to address that issue," he told EW.
Both Aaron Paul and Bryan Cranston have expressed interest in popping up in the spinoff and Gilligan told EW some of the action could be set in the Breaking Bad-era of Saul Goodman's life. Another Breaking Bad character Gilligan hopes to use is Mike, played by Emmy nominee Jonathan Banks. "That would be a great deal of fun. I would say the sky's the limit, at least theoretically speaking," he said. "Realistically speaking, we've got a whole lot of actors, and the world is now well-aware of their wonderful talents and abilities, and therefore Breaking Bad has probably made it tougher for Peter and I to get some of these folks pinned down for another TV show."
Breaking Bad stars Dean Norris, Anna Gunn and Betsy Brandt have all landed new TV projects.
Better Call Saul was announced shortly before the end of Breaking Bad. Gilligan had been vocal about wanting to explore the life of Saul Goodman for some time.
Next up for Gilligan is an appearance on NBC's Community. Banks will also recur on the comedy during its fifth season, which premieres Thursday, Jan. 2 at 8 p.m. on NBC.
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