When Breaking Bad aired its series finale in 2013 after five intense seasons on AMC, fans were sustained by the promise of a Saul Goodman spinoff. We were thrilled to be getting more content from this universe, and with the bar set so incredibly high, nobody could have expected Better Call Saul to be as good as, or possibly better than, Breaking Bad. So in the days leading up to the prequel’s final episode, you certainly can’t blame fans for questioning if there’s an opportunity for a Saul spinoff featuring one of its characters, and given co-creator Vince Gilligan’s blunt response, it’s obvious he’s given it some thought too.
Better Call Saul — the prequel starring Bob Odenkirk as Jimmy McGill-turned-Saul Goodman-turned-Gene Takavic — is set wrap its six-season run on Monday, August 15, with an episode forebodingly titled “Saul Gone.” Vince Gilligan shared his thoughts with Rolling Stone about whether he could or should continue the narrative he’s been working on for over a decade. He said:
I can definitely imagine revisiting it. Selfishly, I’d like to do so, to keep this thing going. But without naming any names, I look around at some of the worlds, the universes, the stories that I love, whether they’re on TV or in the movies. And I think there’s a certain point, and it’s hard to define, where you’ve done too much in the same universe. Just leave it alone.
This world that Vince Gilligan created is clearly one he cares a lot about, and it’s exciting that there is a part of him that would love to continue to tell its stories. However, it seems he’s questioning how much is too much? At some point, you just have to let the end be the end, particularly for this type of universe. Gilligan continued:
And some universes are much bigger and more elastic. Ours is a very small one, Albuquerque, New Mexico, versus some of these worlds and series of movies and TV shows. The main thing I’m scared of is becoming too much of a one-trick pony. Yes, I could do more with this universe. And maybe someday I will, especially if I fail at everything that comes next. Then I’ll come crawling back. But right now, whether there’s more room to grow or not — and there probably is — I feel like it’s time to do something new.
With the creative genius that Vince Gillian and his team have brought to the AMC dramas, whatever “something new” he moves on to, he’s guaranteed a built-in fanbase. It furthermore seems unlikely that he’d fail at all of his future endeavors, forcing him to come crawling back to the deserts of New Mexico (or wherever the next installment would take us). However, with some of TV’s best characters coming from Better Call Saul and Breaking Bad, it’s always good to know that the creative potential is there if Gilligan ever one day chooses to return to it.
Albuquerque may not be the multiverse, but fans were treated to a guest appearances from Bryan Cranston and Aaron Paul as Walter White and Jesse Pinkman, respectively, in Season 6 of the prequel series. Cranston has opened up about returning for Saul and specifically detailed the massive amount of secrecy surrounding his and Paul's roles. He also joked that former co-star Bob Odenkirk had changed since stepping into the lead of his own series.
We’ll have to see what else Vince Gilligan has up his sleeve for the series finale, which is set for 9 p.m. ET Monday, August 15, on AMC. In the meantime, catch up on the best episodes of Better Call Saul so far, with the first five seasons available for streaming with a Netflix subscription.
