Vince Gilligan Talks 'Better Call Saul,' Possibility Aaron Paul and Bryan Cranston Cameo on 'Breaking Bad' Spinoff

Even though Breaking Bad wrapped things up a few weeks ago, our time with Saul Goodman (and maybe even Walter White and Jesse Pinkman) isn't over yet.

During a wide-ranging interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Breaking Bad creator discussed Better Call Saul, the upcoming spinoff focused on Bob Odenkirk's Saul Goodman. While the series was originally conceived as a half-hour comedy, Gilligan revealed that plans have changed.

"We're both one-hour drama guys," he says, but more to the point, they realized that so much of what they enjoyed about Breaking Bad was the show's visual elements. "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 they're still working through plot, they anticipate the series being set in an office with a much lighter tone than that of its predecessor. If Bad was 75 percent dramatic and 25 percent comedic, Saul will be the opposite. The challenge has been finding the dramatic tension in their lead character. Unlike Walter White, who was damaged and needy, Saul has been portrayed as happy-go-lucky until now. Says Gilligan, "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."

With Better Call Saul being a prequel to Breaking Bad, Gilligan also has the benefit of setting the show in a world where (SPOILERS) many of his old characters aren't dead — which means there's a chance Bryan Cranston and Aaron Paul could come back and we could see a pre-Heisenberg Walt and Jesse.

Both Cranston and Aaron Paul, in addition to some of Bad's other actors, have expressed interest in making appearances, which Gilligan intends to make happen. "Personally, I'd have a hard time resisting putting all these guys in for a cameo or two every now and then," he says, smiling at the very thought. He and Gould would like to lure at least a few of the other writers, too, with Bad writer's assistant Gordon Smith already on board. (They'll need to begin staffing up soon as the tentative plan is to have Saul on the air sometime between August and October.)

How would this work? If Better Call Saul is a prequel, does it take place completely before the events of Breaking Bad? Does it have a slight overlap with the first season or so before Walt began using Saul Goodman's services? I'm trying to figure out how Better Call Saul would push Walt and Jesse into Saul's path without ruining the fact that they all met for the first time during Breaking Bad.