WithBetter Call Saulon the verge of wrapping up next week, fans of the show are wondering what will happen next in theBreaking Baduniverse. Despite fans obviously wanting more, Gilligan says not so fast.
Vince Gilligan and co. have now made two of the most compelling dramas that television viewers have ever watched, so if they made another show in that same story, viewers will certainly tune in. While Gilligan admitted that he’d like to do so, he’s also weary of theBetter Call SaulandBreaking Baduniverse potentially going sour, which he wants to avoid at all costs.
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In an interview with Rolling Stone, Gilligan was asked if he plans to continue expanding on the storyonceBetter Call Saulwraps up. While he wants to do more, Gilligan said he fears the show becoming a one-trick pony, as he calls it. “I can definitely imagine revisiting it. Selfishly, I’d like to do so, to keep this thing going. But without naming any names, I look around at some of the worlds, the universes, the stories that I love, whether they’re on TV or in the movies. And I think there’s a certain point, and it’s hard to define, where you’ve done too much in the same universe. Just leave it alone. And some universes are much bigger and more elastic. Ours is a very small one, Albuquerque, New Mexico, versus some of these worlds and series of movies and TV shows. The main thing I’m scared of is becoming too much of a one-trick pony.” Gilligan also said he’s ready to try a whole new project. “Right now, whether there’s more room to grow or not — and there probably is — I feel like it’s time to do something new.”
Gilligan and co. already hadBetter Call Saulin the abstract while they were finishing upBreaking Bad, which is why the show started only a year and a half after its predecessor ended. While some actors from one or both shows would love to see their character be expanded,including Giancarlo Esposito, there haven’t been any reports of Gilligan or his writers trying something like that currently. If they were to expand on another aspect of the universe, all indications are it wouldn’t come as quickly asBetter Call Sauldid.
Gilligan has the right mindset here. Viewers have seen popular and revered franchises take a hit reputation-wise because they’ve done projects in attempts to expand their universe further, which ultimately hurt more than they helped - think Marvel in recent years andHarry Potter. Gilligan added a more than a worthy follow-up toBreaking Bad, which is considered arguably the greatest show of all-time, but he didn’t doBetter Call Sauljust tocapitalize onBreaking Bad’s popularity. It’s clear that he did the show because he had a clear-as-day story to tell with Saul Goodman’s backstory. He shouldn’t continue the story if he doesn’t have a clear idea in mind.
If he decides to re-visit this story in the near future, he also has to keep in mind that follow-ups to other TV shows considered the greatest of all-time did not do well. In spite ofThe Sopranosregularly being hailed as one of the greatest shows ever made,The ManySaints of Newarkreceived mixed reviewsas a prequel by the fanbase. It sounds crazy now, butBetter Call Saulcame with many skeptics when it first started. The fact that it turned out as phenomenal as it did can be considered a miracle. If Gilligan doesn’t have a clear idea of where to go once the story is finished, no one should force him to come up with something else.
Better Call Saulwill air its series finale on May 14, 2025, on AMC.
