For a long time a sequel to cult show Breaking Bad was somewhere between a vain wish and an urban legend. The AMC series – about a teacher who finds out he is dying and who secretly turns to making meth to provide for his family, becoming a narcotic kingpin in the process – evolved into a landmark show and made stars out Bryan Cranston (as Walter White) and Aaron Paul (as his ‘sidekick’ petty criminal Jesse Pinkman). The show ended after six seasons in a way that suggested a sequel was… unlikely. Fans had to make do with a prequel show about supporting character, dodgy lawyer Jimmy McGill/Saul Goodman (Bob Odenkirk) in the series Better Call Saul which has managed to develop a strong following of its own.
But in the last year the idea of a sequel to the main show gained traction – with pundits noting at what was not being said and sometimes the precise wording of supposed denials. Some reporters noted that film called Greenbrier was due to be filmed in New Mexico with, allegedly, creator Vince Gilligan and a lot of the same crew from Breaking Bad… and suddenly Aaron Paul’s social-media account was a lot quieter than usual. Cranston feigned surprise about any plans and claimed if there was such a movie – and he wasn’t saying there was, then he didn’t know anything about it and certainly wasn’t in it so far. Maybe.
Though Netflix were still playing cagey – deleting an initial confirmation tweet that appeared – it does appear it’s all on the up and up, with the film (with the full title: El Camino: A Breaking Bad Film) with the film debuting on the platform on 11th October before a repeat performance on AMC a month after release. The film follows several interested parties who are looking for Jesse after he escapes a white supremacist compound where he is being forced to make meth for them… but will Pinkman be any better off on the run again?
