Giancarlo Espositois a busy actor these days, with his hit AMC seriesParishandroles inCaptain America: Brave New Worldand the Russo Brothers’The Electric Statejust completed. He has more than half a dozen projects currently in production,but there’s one he still thinks about revisiting:Breaking Bad’siconic drug kingpin Gus Fring. In a new interview withDiscussing Film, Esposito discussed his recent projects, and his hopes to once again play his most iconic character.
Parishmay not be the monster hitthatBreaking BadorBetter Call Saulwas for AMC, but Esposito personally has earned strong reviews playing a man who returns to a life of crime after a personal tragedy. Whether there will be a second season is still up in the air, but Esposito is on to more projects, including a future guest appearanceon Peacock’s hit seriesPoker Face, starring Natasha Lyonne.However, he admits that he would absolutely make time for a Gus Fring series if AMC andBreaking Badcreator Vince Gilligan came calling.
I would consider that most certainly.
Breaking Bad
Esposito outlined what it would take to sign onto play Gus Fring again.The series would obviously have to be a prequel, as Fring meets an unforgettable and gruesome end in the fourth season ofBreaking Bad. The prequel seriesBetter Call Saulgave Esposito more opportunities to expand on the character, but he wants that same creative team to be in charge of any series with Fring as the lead character.
“I don’t have the power to greenlight a Gus Fring prequel, but I think that character deserves a little attention in that arena. Maybe I say that now because I’m confident that I could be at that number one spot and bring in viewers for an interesting story. It wouldn’t be anything without Vince Gilligan and Peter Gould, who was the showrunner onBetter Call Saul.”
Esposito says he has discussed the possibility of a Gus Fring prequel series with Gould, but did not elaborate on how those talks have progressed. AsBetter Call Saulshowed, there iscertainly more backstoryto the character that has yet to be revealed, that could make for a riveting series.
“I think we all want to know more about his complicated nature and how he came to be,” he said.
Breaking Badfans have been pretty vocalabout their hopes of seeing a continuation of any sort with any of the series' characters. Few thought a series focused on Bob Odenkirk’s Saul Goodman would work, but many now considerBetter Call Saulto be just as good, if not better, than its acclaimed predecessor. The creative team behind the series, however, isn’t too keen on revisiting the franchise just yet. In an October 2023 interview withVariety, Gilligan said he would prefer to leave theBreaking Baduniverse alone, but might reconsider if his current projects flop.
“To be brutally honest, if I get my ass handed to me with this next show and the one after that, and nobody wants to see it and everybody wants ‘Breaking Bad,’ who knows! Maybe we’ll see our way clearer to doing something in the future. But what I’d like to do is leave it be.”
Giancarlo Esposito Reveals His Favorite Gus Fring Moment
Breaking Bad and Better Call Saul star Giancarlo Esposito reflected on the shining moment for Gus.
AfterBreaking Badended in 2013, Gilligan and Gould produced six seasons ofBetter Call Saul, which ran from 2015 to 2022. In 2019, Gilligan directedEl Camino: A Breaking Bad Movie, which brought back Aaron Paul to wrap up Jesse Pinkman’s storyline. That may be all the content we get from theBreaking Baduniverse, unless Esposito is able to convince him otherwise…
All seasons ofBreaking BadandBetter Call Saul, as well asEl Camino: A Breaking Bad Movie, are streaming on Netflix. You can check out the trailer for Esposito’s latest TV project,Parish, below.
