HBO's Chernobyl recently wrapped its short run by becoming one of the most highly acclaimed TV series of all time, earning higher marks (in some respects) than even that of AMC's Breaking Bad. Interestingly, the latter's legacy will get further boosted in the form of a Breaking Bad follow-up movie, and fans are already rabid about finding out anything possible about the project. One of the biggest questions, of course, is whether or not Bryan Cranston's Walter White will show up in some way.
Walt wouldn't be able to make the most natural and easy-to-explain appearance, of course, considering the anti-hero was killed off in Breaking Bad's series finale, "Felina." But here's what actor Bryan Cranston said when he was asked if Walt would "pop up" in the Breaking Bad movie:
Well, rigor mortis has a way of allowing that to happen.
First, let's give him at least 10 comedy points for deadpanning a joke like that. The man may be a master of drama, but Bryan Cranston's sense of humor should never be underestimated or underappreciated.
Second, let's take away at least 10 drama points for answering such a direly serious question (to Breaking Bad fans) with such a fluffy and depthless response. Maybe even 15 points!
Okay, so that's exactly the kind of answer one would expect from Bryan Cranston, considering the Breaking Bad movie is likely being developed behind a dozen locked doors filled with lead, so that not even Superman could get a peek at things being written. Whether Cranston was the main character in the project or if he had a 5-second background cameo, he likely wouldn't be able to say anything concrete to anyone about it.
All that said, Bryan Cranston isn't so harsh as to put a clamp on the chances of Walt's potential return in the future. Speaking with Entertainment Tonight, Bryan Cranston reasserted his character's deceased nature, but also allowed for the possibility of The Man Who Knocks returning in some capacity. In his words:
It could be! Could be [in] a flashback, or a flash forward. I’m still dead, Walter White, I don’t know what [could happen].
During this interview, and in others, Bryan Cranston played loose with even his own knowledge of the project's existence. I mean clearly, enough people have asked him by now that he knows it's a thing, even if he can't fess up to whether or not he has spoken to creator Vince Gilligan about it at all.
To give Bryan Cranston a bit more credit in that department, not even Vince Gilligan has been very up front about what the Breaking Bad movie will be about, with news mainly coming through piecemeal rumors. It supposedly launched its production process in New Mexico in February, and is set to make its TV premiere on AMC at some point in the future. Even after that point, though, Aaron Paul still wasn't confirmed to be involved, so it's still just an assumption that the project is centered on Jesse Pinkman's post-escape.
The influential Breaking Bad ended its run in 2013 firmly in the "Best TV Series of All Time" conversations, and fans have been only slightly less in love with its follow-up prequel series Better Call Saul. It seems highly unlikely that Bryan Cranston would be absent for both Better Call Saul AND the Breaking Bad movie, so the odds are good that Walter White will appear somewhere on our TVs in the next year or three. (Though don't expect to see Walt Jr.)
Too bad we won't get to see Bryan Cranston's Walt and Rhea Seehorn's Kim acting opposite each other at any point. At least unless someone magical out there is listening.
Stay tuned to CinemaBlend for more information regarding the Breaking Bad movie, as well as for Season 5 of Better Call Saul, which is coming in 2020.
