Giancarlo Esposito Wants A Prequel Series For His Best Role
Giancarlo Esposito wants to do a Breaking Bad and Better Call Saul prequel all about his character Gus Fring.
Breaking Bad is one of the highest-rated television shows of all time due to tremendous storytelling, memorable characters, and phenomenal performances by the cast portraying them. One of the most iconic characters on the series, or any show for that matter, is businessman and narcotics distributor Gus Fring, played marvelously by actor Giancarlo Esposito. Although the popular AMC series concluded in 2013, the character still receives high acclaim. Esposito’s performance in the role earned him numerous nominations and awards during the show’s run. And even though creator Vince Gilligan has said that Better Call Saul will be the last show in the Breaking Bad universe, MovieWeb reports that Esposito has hopes that his character will get his own spin-off somewhere down the line.
Speaking with Entertainment Weekly, Giancarlo Esposito said, “I’ve always kept these Breaking Bad pillars in my head, as much as I’ve wanted so much as an actor to explore Gus’ previous life – Gus’ life in Chile, all these things. There is a yearning inside me, and I keep coming back to the Rise of Gus. It fits the puzzle, and we could see where he had come from and maybe explore more of who he really is underneath the mask.”
In 2015, a spin-off of the popular crime drama came in the form of Better Call Saul. The series serves as a prequel to Breaking Bad and follows small-time attorney, Jimmy McGill (Bob Odenkirk), as he transforms into Walter White’s (Bryan Cranston) morally challenged lawyer, Saul Goodman. Several characters from Breaking Bad popped up on the show, which recently concluded its sixth and final season in August. Giancarlo Esposito returned as Gus Fring, first appearing on the 2017 episode Witness, and once again, his performance garnered him several nominations and awards.
Giancarlo Esposito made his first appearance as Gus Fring in the 11th episode of Breaking Bad season two, which was entitled Mandala. His character was created to replace Tuco Salamanca (Raymond Cruz), who was written out of the series due to his commitment to appear on the police procedural The Closer. Gus was intentionally developed to be opposite of the chaotic Tuco, with a calmer and collected personality. He met a brutal demise at the hands of Tuco’s uncle Hector (Mark Margolis) in the 13th episode of the fourth season of Breaking Bad, which is appropriately titled Face Off. Esposito reprises his role as Gus in three seasons of Better Call Saul.
While we’d love to see a Breaking Bad spin-off centered around Gus Fring, it’s not something that’s likely going to happen anytime soon, if ever. Fortunately, Giancarlo Esposito has no problem when it comes to staying busy. He has a robust resume as an actor, with an astonishing 190 credits to his name. Recently, Esposito has appeared in multiple television shows including Amazon’s original series The Boys, Better Caul Saul, and the Disney+ original series The Mandalorian. In the latter, the actor plays the character Moff Gideon, another role that’s gotten him several nominations. The third season of The Mandalorian is scheduled to premiere sometime in February next year, and Moff is confirmed to return.
Down the road, Giancarlo Esposito has multiple projects in the works. He’s set to play Faraday in the upcoming show Cyberpunk: Edgerunners, an animated series premiering on Netflix this month. The actor is also set to appear in the James Franco-directed film The Long Home, which is currently without a release date. The drama was originally supposed to release back in 2017, but sales rights to the movie were acquired by a different studio causing delay. Finally, Esposito has a role in the upcoming television series Jigsaw, which centers around the largest heist ever attempted, and the vengeance and betrayals that surround it.
