Breaking Bad Star Confirms They Won't Be Playing the Character Again

Better Call Saul has ended its run, and if nothing else, the spinoff series was a worthy expansion of the Breaking Bad Universe. In the last few years, Vince Gilligan's underworld saga has expanded in several directions: Better Call Saul was at once an informative prequel, eye-opening interquel, and stage-setting sequel to the events of Breaking Bad, while the Netflix movie El Camino revealed how Jesse Pinkman's (Aaron Paul) story resolved. A lot of fans have believed that El Camino, in particular, was opening a window for the Breaking Bad Universe to continue – but it probably won't be with Aaron Paul. 

The final episodes of Better Call Saul brought back Aaron Paul and Bryan Cranston as Jesse Pinkman and Walter White (respectively), for some key scenes from the Breaking Bad era we never saw:

"It's kinda like reconnecting with a very familiar friend. You can be away from that friend for some time, but when you are back in each other's company, it's like no time has passed," Aaron Paul told THR about appearing in Better Call Saul. "We all know our characters so well having played them for years, so it felt good. I love Pinkman. He will always have a special place inside of me, but I can confidently say that [Better Call Saul] was the last time we're going to see Pinkman. So it was a nice farewell"

As stated, Aaron Paul has done numerous reappearances as Jesse, and as the only major criminal character from Breaking Bad to have actually escaped the law and the competition, he was the best hope for the series to continue. Hearing that he's done with the franchise for good is going to be a blow to a lot of Breaking Bad die-hards – but Aaron Paul looks at it in a more positive light: 

"It was such a fun ride. When we were finishing up Breaking Bad, Michael Slovis, our incredible DP, gave us all this really beautiful wrap gift and a note with a Dr. Suess quote that said, 'Don't cry because it's over; smile because it happened.' So I'm holding on to that."

If anything, Better Call Saul proved that even the most unlikely character from Breaking Bad can become a compelling main character of their own story. As Better Call Saul was coming to an end, showrunner Peter Gould teased that Saul's wife and love, Kim Wexler (Rhea Seehorn) could be the next link in the Breaking Bad Universe chain: 

 "I don't want to speak for Vince, but I think we both would like to take a little break from this universe to explore something else. But if we come back, it will be because we've got something that we're excited about and that there's more to say," Gould told AMC.com.

"As for if there's more to the story, there might be," he added. "I'm not going to say that couldn't happen. It certainly could... Certainly never say never. And I think if you watch this [finale] episode, Kim Wexler seems like she's got more to do, that's for sure." 

Better Call Saul is currently streaming on Netflix.