The Mandalorian and Breaking Bad Villain Giancarlo Esposito Books Next TV Role

No one plays a villain on TV quite like Giancarlo Esposito. The actor brought the house down with his terrifying turn as Gus Fring on Breaking Bad and Better Call Saul, then brought his chilling talents to the Star Wars universe where he stars in The Mandaloirian as Moff Gideon. With Better Call Saul coming to an end, and The Mandalorian heading into its third season, Esposito has booked his next major TV role. This time, however, he won’t be playing the villain.

On Tuesday, news broke that Esposito and AMC would be working together once again, bringing to life a new series called The Driver. Based on a 2014 BBC miniseries, The Driver tells the story of a cab driver (played by Esposito) who agrees to chauffeur a Zimbabwean gangster in New Orleans. 

“I am over the moon excited, enthused, and inspired to be in collaboration with the stellar network and creative team of AMC,” Esposito said in a statement. “Thanks for believing in me. It’s great to be back home!”

Esposito and AMC have worked together for a number of years, thanks to his involvement in both Breaking Bad and Better Call Saul. With The Driver set to air in 2023, Espostio will essentially be jumping from one AMC project to another.

The Driver is created by Sunu Gonera and Danny Brocklehurst, the latter of which created the original miniseries alongside Jim Poyser. Esposito will serve as executive producer in addition to his role on-screen. Gonera will direct the first episode and Theo Travers will act as showrunner.

“It’s surreal to be at this point,” said Gonera. “This whole journey started as a simple conversation four years ago in my manager Josh Kesselman’s living room when he said, ‘Giancarlo is keen to play an everyman as his next role. There’s a British show he loves called The Driver. Would you watch the pilot and see if you could come up with a take you both could get excited about?’ Um, would I? You had me at Giancarlo and everyman.”

“I couldn’t be more excited to help bring this show to life,” said Travers. “I’ve been a fan of Giancarlo’s work since Spike Lee’s Do The Right Thing. It’s a true honor to have the chance to collaborate with him in this way. The Driver is a high-voltage, dark identity quest for an everyman trying to find renewed purpose in his life.”

The Driver will debut in 2023.