Over the last 24 hours, every Breaking Bad stan has been on edge with word that there's a Breaking Bad movie in development. (If only those fans tuned into the always-brilliant Better Call Saul, amirite?) At first, talk was all over the place regarding what the actual film would be, although THR did note that the film would "follow the escape of a kidnapped man and his quest for freedom." Based on how the series finale, "Felina," ended, that left only one possibility, which /film confirmed. [Ed Note: If you haven't finished Breaking Bad at this point, and continue reading on, you're spoiling yourself.]
"We have confirmed that the kidnapped man is Jesse Pinkman," Jacob Hall reported, "and the movie will follow his escape from Albuquerque following the bloody events of the series finale."
Upon hearing the news, I had one question: is this necessary? Being an ornery curmudgeon, that's my regular response, but this time? I had to see if I was an army of one on this idea. Apparently, I'm not.
So, dickfuck @tedcruz wins and we're getting more unnecessary Breaking Bad stories. LOVE THIS WORLD. https://t.co/Zw7hcoFs42
"Fans react to reports that a Breaking Bad movie is in the works" #BreakingBad ended perfectly, a movie seems unnecessary. Since we hardly have anything to complain about the show, the movie might just give us that opportunity. 😉 https://t.co/o4XZNcga3N
If I’m being honest, I don’t care all that much for this new #BreakingBad movie being made. I think the show had a perfect ending, and this new movie would just be unnecessary.
Now that I know I'm among family, I have to ponder: why bother? What could we possibly gain from a film for a show that, without question, had a perfect ending?
Part of it is this being AMC's M.O.. This is the same network that scored big with The Walking Dead, then produced a prequel, Fear The Walking Dead, which recently merged timelines with the show it preceded. The same network who made a big deal about killing off Andrew Lincoln's character, making the show Rick-less, only to then announce that Lincoln would reprise the role of Rick Grimes in multiple feature-length films. There's cashing in on The Walking Dead and there's oversaturating IP for...something.
It's an intriguing tactic and not a new one. AMC is essentially following in the footsteps of HBO when it comes to Game of Thrones. The hit series might be ending in 2019, but there are already plans for a Naomi Watts-starring prequel series, one of many. With the current series ending the timeline, it makes sense to expand the beginning of the story, which is why AMC's Better Call Saul worked. It found a unique way to extend the Breaking Bad universe while telling an equally-engrossing tale.
Mind you, whatever this Breaking Bad film will be should be dope. Vince Gilligan is a genius, and this is his world. Aaron Paul returning to portray Jesse in this way is a unique way to give us a taste of what happened after he escaped a horrendous ordeal. Told properly, this could be a fan favorite; if it's disappointing, this could be one true dark stain on an otherwise-A+ franchise.
That said, as a big fan of the franchise, any amount of talk regarding this film being "unnecessary" won't deter. This film, in whatever format it lands, is already highly-anticipated. To quote the great Billy Hoyle, AMC better not put up no brick. The world will be watching to see if Jesse Pinkman truly got the peace he deserved by series end. Anything less would be an L for him and his legacy.
