Vince Gilligan: More 'Breaking Bad' stars may end up on 'Better Call Saul'
HOLLYWOOD, Calif. -- Sorry Better Call Saul fans: Creators Vince Gilligan and Peter Gould don't actually have a "master plan" in place for the show.
During a panel at television festival Paleyfest on Saturday, held at the Dolby Theatre, the two creators maintained that storyline flexibility is a good thing.
"One step at a time. I hate to say it, there's no master plan," Gould said of pacing out the show's storytelling.
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The AMC series, now in its second season, is a prequel to the hit show Breaking Bad. It takes place in 2002, six years before Saul Goodman (Bob Odenkirk) becomes the infamous lawyer to drug-making antihero Walter White (Bryan Cranston). Instead, viewers see Jimmy McGill, a lawyer struggling to impress his peers including his brother Chuck (Michael McKean) and his love interest and friend, Kim (Rhea Seehorn).
“We kind of have these end points, but how we get from New York to L.A. is a big question," Gould added. "Sometimes we talk about it like the Transcontinental Railroad. We built half of it on Breaking Bad and now here we are starting from the west going back east. You kind of hope you don't end up three states apart."
Both creators like the ability to play around with the storyline because it allows them to develop the Jimmy-to-Saul story more organically.
As far as Breaking Bad guest stars go, there's already one familiar face returning for the upcoming March 14 episode of Better Call Saul (no spoilers!).
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The creators aren't opposed to more additions in the future. The difficulty, however, is not "overdoing it," Gilligan said.
When the show was first announced at the Television Critics Association, Gould told reporters he wanted the show to stand on its own -- at least at the beginning. That meant no Walter White and no Jesse Pinkman (Aaron Paul). There's still no sign of the meth-making duo in the series.
“We love all these characters and actors from the Breaking Bad universe," Gilligan said at Paleyfest. "The difficulty is maintaining a level of self discipline to stop yourself from saying, 'Lets have this person walk through the background,' or, 'Let's have this person get splashed by mud as Jimmy drives by.'"
In fact, Gilligan got "talked out of" a cameo he wanted to include in the season two finale -- though he wouldn't reveal the details.
“[It] was a perfect opportunity for a cameo," he said. "It was an organic and logical possibility for a particular someone to show up, but we didn't do it and actually I got talked out of it. I’m glad I got talked out of it, because it would have distracted from a very important thing we were doing in that moment."
"It killed me though. That would've been fun," Gould admitted.
Gould and Gilligan were joined by cast members Odenkirk, McKean, Seehorn, Patrick Fabian (who plays law firm partner Howard) and Michael Mando (who plays Nacho).
Paleyfest will continue through next week, with panels on The Big Bang Theory, American Horror Story and more.
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Saba was a Los Angeles-based reporter who covers all things digital entertainment, including YouTube, streaming services and digital influencers. Prior to that, she spent two years at the Los Angeles Times covering entertainment for the Calendar and Company Town sections. Saba grew up in Santa Monica and graduated from Boston University with a B.S. in journalism and B.A. in political science. When not reporting, she is usually binge watching shows online or looking for new coffee shops to frequent.
