Breaking Bad came to an end back in 2013 with a finale that closed the door on Walter White's journey from unassuming chemistry teacher to meth kingpin. For a long time, it seemed that the only way the show would continue in any way, shape, or form would be via the Better Call Saul spinoff. News recently broke that Breaking Bad is getting a movie, and original series star Bryan Cranston has responded to the announcement of the movie, saying this:
Yes, there appears to be a movie version of Breaking Bad, but I honestly have not even read the script. I have not gotten the script, I have not read the script. And so there's the question of whether or not we would even see Walter White in this movie. Think about that one.
Somehow, the Breaking Bad movie feels all the more real for having been confirmed by Bryan Cranston. He didn't give away a whole lot in the way of details regarding the project, and the fact that he hasn't read a script for the movie indicates that he couldn't give away tons of plot details even if he felt so inclined. His comments even give reason to doubt that the Breaking Bad movie will feature Walter White at all.
Once upon a time, a Breaking Bad project without Bryan Cranston would have seemed inconceivable. The drama probably wouldn't have lasted as long as it did or earned the pop culture legacy it did without Cranston as leading man. The success of Better Call Saul, however, proves that there is an audience for projects set in the Breaking Bad universe, with or without Walter.
Whether or not the movie includes Walter likely depends on the timeframe and the main characters. If the project is set after the conclusion of Breaking Bad, Walter could really only show up via flashbacks, hallucination, or dream sequences considering his ending on the show. If set during Breaking Bad, Bryan Cranston could simply play a Walter White still in his rise and fall as Heisenberg.
Bryan Cranston may not look exactly as he did in the original run of the series, but who's to say that he couldn't pull it off if he shaves his head and maybe adds the Heisenberg hat? Of course, the presence of Walter White also depends on whether or not Cranston would be open to reprising his most iconic role. Cranston shared whether he would play Walt again in his chat with The Dan Patrick Show:
I would, I would. Absolutely. If Vince Gilligan asked me to do, sure, absolutely. He's a genius. It's a great story and there's a lot of people who felt that they wanted to see some kind of completion to some of these storylines that were left open and this idea, from what I'm told, gets into at least a couple of the characters who were not completed as far as their journey.
It's not altogether surprising that Bryan Cranston would be on board with reprising his role as Walter White. He (and Aaron Paul) have said before that they'd appear on Better Call Saul if Vince Gilligan called them up and said he'd found the right story. If Vince Gilligan calls Cranston up for the Breaking Bad movie, Cranston would apparently be game!
That said, if the movie does indeed focus on characters with incomplete journeys from Breaking Bad, that likely means that Walter White won't be the star. Perhaps Jesse Pinkman could be the leading man. There's no word at this point if Aaron Paul is attached to the movie, but his character's journey is arguably incomplete. Although he technically did escape his captivity by neo-Nazis, he was last seen driving hysterically in the opposite direction from the dying Walter. What happened next?
Aaron Paul did just land a role on Westworld, so he might be busy with another small screen project for the foreseeable future. Only time will tell. Breaking Bad isn't the only successful AMC show to score an order for a movie, so it should be interesting to see if this is the beginning of a trend. If you're now in the mood to relive the glory days of Breaking Bad and/or the first few seasons of Better Call Saul, check out Netflix!
