It’s going on five years since we bid farewell to Walter ‘Heisenberg’ White, and though Netflix and series creator Vince Gilligan are about to introduce us to El Camino, we won’t be seeing a surprise appearance from Bryan Cranston’s crimelord.
That’s according to Gilligan himself, who appeared on The Rich Eisen Show earlier this week to promote El Camino, which picks up the story of Jesse Pinkman (Aaron Paul) moments after he raced away from Heisenberg and all his demons during the Breaking Bad finale. It seems he didn’t make it all that far before trouble caught up with him.
But on the subject of Walter White, Gilligan was asked straight-up whether we can expect a Bryan Cranston cameo in some shape or form, to which he replied:
Yeah, I’m going to give you that one, Rich, because I love you so much. Yes, Walter White is dead. Yes.
Not that you can blame Gilligan for wanting to keep Heisenberg firmly out of the picture. Not only is this a movie which focuses specifically on the story of Jesse Pinkman – a story steeped in tragedy and pain – but welcoming Bryan Cranston’s kingpin back into the saga would somewhat undermine the Breaking Bad finale, which arguably delivered a fitting sense of closure to the apex predator of Albuquerque.
Instead, October 11th is all about a continuation of the story, rather than retreading old ground, as Vince Gilligan and his team (re)introduce Jesse (Aaron Paul), Skinny Pete (Charles Baker) and Badger (Matt Jones). Perhaps most exciting of all is the addition of Jonathan Banks, whose Mike Ehrmantraut was undoubtedly one of the highlights of Better Call Saul.
Spread the word: The Breaking Bad saga continues this weekend with the Netflix premiere of El Camino.