Tread Lightly: A Breaking Bad Movie Is in the Works

Vince Gilligan just can’t shake Breaking Bad. First came Better Call Saul, the prequel to his hit AMC series, starring Bob Odenkirk as scheming attorney Saul Goodman (formerly known as Jimmy McGill). Now, according to The Hollywood Reporter, Gilligan is working on a two-hour Breaking Bad movie of some sort. It’s not yet been reported whether original cast members like Bryan Cranston and Aaron Paul are involved, and representatives for Gilligan have not yet responded to Vanity Fair’s request for comment.

Per T.H.R., rumors of the project (which is possibly proceeding under the fake/working title of Greenbrier) have been floating for a while now. The New Mexico Film Office confirmed to the outlet that a project titled Greenbrier will be shooting in the state; production is expected to start this month. Saul producers Mark Johnson and Melissa Bernstein are reportedly attached to the film, which will follow “the escape of a kidnapped man and his quest for freedom,” T.H.R. notes. Gilligan signed a $50 million deal with Sony TV in July, so it’s unclear whether this Breaking Bad movie will be released theatrically or on television.

Given the very existence of Better Call Saul and the insane popularity of Breaking Bad at its height, it’s not surprising to see that Gilligan is ready to extend the universe a little bit more. But details are slim: it’s not yet known if this film will be a prequel or if it will pick up after the events of the show’s perfect finale (we can still hear those Badfinger riffs now). If the film were to pick up where the finale left off, it would seem Cranston wouldn’t be involved because, well, you know. But perhaps we’ll finally learn where Paul’s character, Jesse Pinkman, drove off to. Gilligan shared plenty of theories about his character’s fate after the finale aired, telling GQ in 2013 that he would like to believe Pinkman got away and found refuge somewhere far from New Mexico.

“The way I see it is that he got away and got to Alaska, changed his name, and had a new life. You want that for the kid. He deserves it,” Gilligan said. But considering Breaking Bad precedent, he also said it’s more likely that Pinkman was recaptured after a day or two, and then arrested for killing two federal agents.