Bryan Cranston addressed the possibility of one day revisiting his Breaking Bad role once again.
While it may not seem very likely that Bryan Cranston will revisit the role of Walter White again at this point, the actor knows better than to completely dismiss the possibility. It was back in 2008 when Cranston first started playing Walter in the first season of Breaking Bad, and it’s not been ten years since that show ended its run in 2013. Cranston has since reprised the role for special appearances in the prequel series Better Call Saul and the sequel film El Camino: A Breaking Bad Movie, along with a pair of Super Bowl advertisements.
There aren’t plans at the moment to make any more TV shows or movies set in the Breaking Bad universe. As the cast isn’t getting any younger, it doesn’t seem likely that the next potential show would be a prequel in the way Better Call Saul had been. Cranston has also said he felt like the PopCorners commercial he did with Aaron Paul earlier this year felt like a send-off to the character, but at the same time, Cranston is now refusing to say that he will never play the role again. This is because, going back to 2013, Cranston thought he’s been finished every time he’s reprised the role since the end of Breaking Bad, and now he’s learned to leave the door open.
“I never underestimate Vince Gilligan,” Cranston says in an Awards Radar interview. “I thought when we were saying like on April 3, just a little while ago, that 10 years earlier was our last production day on Breaking Bad… 10 years ago. I thought when I was saying my tearful goodbyes to everybody that that was it. Then El Camino came up. ‘Oh, I guess I’m gonna be Walter White again. And then Better Call Saul came up, ‘Oh, I guess I’m gonna be on [Saul]’ …and then PopCorners commercial comes up. ‘You guys want to play it together?’ ‘Sure!’ It’s just fun.”
Cranston continued, ” So now I’d be a fool to say, ‘Yeah, we’re done.’ I’ll just leave it at nothing’s on the horizon and I know that Vince would not want to do something where – he doesn’t need a paycheck and neither do I – and so let’s honor that. But IF there was something that he woke up from a dream, and went, ‘Oh my God,’ and he pitched me on it, and I too, had the ‘OH MY GOD’ reaction then I’d look at it. It’s not often that you get an ‘OH MY GOD’ reaction when you read or hear a pitch. If you’re stunned and astonished by something, you should pay attention. So, if that happens, I don’t assume that will – but if that ever did, I’d listen.”
Have We Seen the Last of Walter “Heisenberg” White?
Even if Cranston is really finished with Walter White at this point, fans could be happy. After the Emmy-winning portrayal of the character on Breaking Bad, Cranston reprised the role four times. Along with Better Call Saul and El Camino: A Breaking Bad Movie, he did an Esurance insurance commercial in 2015 while in character as Heisenberg. As with this year’s PopCorners ad, it premiered during the Super Bowl.
In any case, Cranston is planning to take a break from acting in 2026 to spend more time with his wife, so if another Walter White appearance is going to happen, perhaps it should be within the next few years.
