Is it the end of the line for Breaking Bad? It’s been over a year since Vince Gilligan put the franchise to rest for the second time with the ending of Better Call Saul. As the TV show creator is currently getting ready to start production on an original sci-fi series for Apple TV+ that is void of methamphetamine and crime, he shared his thoughts on whether he thinks he would return to the world he started with Walter White. His answer has me hoping it doesn’t happen.
While reflecting with Variety on the 10th anniversary of the Breaking Bad finale, Vince Gilligan was asked whether he believes he has said goodbye to the franchise “forever.” Here’s how he answered:
To be brutally honest, if I get my ass handed to me with this next show and the one after that, and nobody wants to see it and everybody wants Breaking Bad, who knows! Maybe we’ll see our way clearer to doing something in the future. But what I’d like to do is leave it be. It’s the work of my lifetime — Breaking Bad and Better Call Saul — it’ll be the first thing engraved on my tombstone, and I couldn’t be more proud of it. And I kind of wonder if there are further stories to tell, but I don’t want to beat a dead horse.
It sounds like if Gilligan could have his way completely, he would never look back on the Breaking Bad franchise because he’s said what he wanted to say through both series. However, he shared one caveat. If his next couple projects completely flop and he finds a way back into Walter White’s world, he’s willing to open the door again.
Gilligan sounds caught between loving the universe he created with Breaking Bad, and not wanting to overstay its welcome on TV screens even knowing how popular and powerful it is. The TV creator has been entrenched in telling the Breaking Bad story since 2007, bringing five seasons of the initial show starring Bryan Cranston and Aaron Paul before lightning struck a second time with the success of prequel series Better Call Saul, which bowed out after six seasons. Gilligan also had this to say:
I look around and see other storytelling worlds — I’m not going to name names — that feel like, ‘Boy, they are really sucking that last dime out of that franchise.’ I’d hate to see that happen with this. I’d rather err on the side of leaving the party too soon than too late. But never say never. That’s just how I feel right now, but who knows down the line.
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It’s a fair answer, because who knows? Perhaps Vince Gilligan will figure out a really great new storyline from Breaking Bad or Better Call Saul and blow our minds years from now. However, I’m inclined to be content with the two incredible TV shows we’ve been given and hope Gilligan doesn’t simply go back to it out of boredom or peer pressure. I’d love to see him put his talents into his new original ideas and for them to pay off.
Both series are so well made and I’d hate for more to come from the franchise and downgrade the quality Vince Gilligan has set up for what we’ve seen before. For the time being, Gilligan is placing his focus on a mysterious Apple TV+ sci-fi show, which has already received a two-season order. Gilligan shared he is planning to get started with production on the show this winter in New Mexico.
In the meantime, you can watch both Breaking Bad and Better Call Saul with a Netflix subscription. If you’re looking to rewatch it, check out the different orders you can watch both shows and if you’ve had your fill, here are some shows like Breaking Bad to try next.