Breaking Badmade a habit of testing viewers’ nerves with shocking betrayals and unexpected character deaths, but it seems that series creatorVince Gilliganhad some ideas that went to even darker places than fans saw in the show. In one interview, Gilligan recalled pitching the idea of killing one character that proved so divisive it never made it beyond the brainstorming table.
While it is hard to imagine anything being too drastic for the show that turned a mild-mannered chemistry teacher into a murdering drug baron, according to Gilligan his suggestion that Walter White’s teenage son, Walter Jr., should be killed off early in the series was seen as too grim to be even contemplated. Reflecting on the writer’s room process, Gilligan said in the interview (viaTeam Coco):
“In the early years of Breaking Bad’s run, Gilligan planned for Walt, Jr. to be “killed by this nasty guy that Walt is somehow in business with. All my writers looked at me like I had lost my mind.”
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“Bad guys, the real life kind, are running amok.”
For viewers, Walter Jr. (played by RJ Mitte) was a moral anchor forBryan Cranston’s Walter White, and a character that was essential to keep alive to show how White’s descent into the life of a criminal impacted the family unit. It is probably not surprising that the other writers on the show pushed back on the idea of killing off the character, and, needless to say, they made the right call.
Ultimately,Breaking Badbecame one of the greatest television shows of all time thanks to some incredible scripting and acting throughout its five seasons. While many characters did not survive the journey, the show’s conclusion in 2013 was a long way from the end of the story.
Gilligan expanded the show into a franchise, first with the sequel movie,El Camino, which followed Aaron Paul’s Jessie Pinkman as he negotiated life post-Walter White. This was followed by the prequel series,Better Call Saul, which sawBob Odenkirk deliver a barnstorming performanceas the criminal lawyer who is not always on the right side of the law himself.
Better Call Saulcame to a close in 2022 after six seasons that provedBreaking Badwas not just a flash in the pan. While Odenkirk did not receive the awards glory that many believed he deserved – the series broke a record as the series to earn the most Emmy nominations (53) without winning any of them – fans were more than happy with the show and immediately wanted to know what comes next.
As it stands, Gilligan has hinted that he could return to theBreaking Baduniverse in some way in the future, but for now, he is done with Walter White and everything that came with him. There are several characters who could be spun out into their own stories – with Giancarlo Esposito’s Gus Fring being one such candidate for his own spinoff – and it is likely that Gilligan will return toBreaking Badin some way, when he feels he has a new story worth telling.
