Vince Gilligan Offers A Better Call Saul Update

Though he could be forgiven for sitting on his laurels (or wearing them as a hat and taking a victory lap), Breaking Bad creator Vince Gilligan is throwing himself back into setting up other things. Prime amongst them is the spin-off, Better Call Saul, featuring Bob Odenkirk’s slimy lawyer character in a prequel to the Albuquerque-set series. Now Gilligan is talking up the show in more depth, including hinting that Bryan Cranston & Aaron Paul could cameo{ =nofollow}.

Talking with The Hollywood Reporter, Gilligan explains that he decided to push ahead (alongside Breaking Bad colleague Peter Gould) with the spin-off despite concerns that nothing can live up to the parent series. "There's obviously a danger inherent in doing a spinoff, but I just love the character of Saul Goodman so much, and part of me doesn't want to say no to this world," he says. He has experience on how tough it is to follow a hit having worked on the short-lived X-Files spin-off, The Lone Gunmen.

Though there was speculation that Saul would be a sitcom, Gilligan and Gould are happier working in the longer format still. "We're both one-hour drama guys. So we figured, 'Why not shoot Saul in the same way?' Let's shoot it in Albuquerque, let's get as much of the crew back together as possible, and let's do it the way we did it before so that it will be of a piece with that pre-existing fictional universe that we had so much fun creating."

While the show will be much more comedic than Walter White’s activities, Saul will still need a dramatic structure. "We've had to find the ongoing itch that Saul needs to scratch, so to speak, or else we wouldn't have much of a show." Plus, though the show is obviously set before the later events of Breaking Bad, the location and focus means that the show’s stars could briefly crop up. "Personally, I'd have a hard time resisting putting all these guys in for a cameo or two every now and then.”

As for Gilligan’s non Breaking Bad career, he’s juggling ideas for movies he wants to direct and will creatively help out on police drama Battle Creek, which has House creator David Shore working on the day-to-day series. "I don't need to compare the next project to the last project, even if others do,” he says. “Let 'em. Just move forward and make it as good as you can.”

For more from Gilligan, head to The Hollywood Reporter{ =nofollow}. And for our extensive Breaking Bad interviews click this link. You might also like our list of X-Files in-jokes scattered through the series.