Of the handful of villains who weaved in and out of the narrative thread of the “Breaking Bad” franchise, few have had the indelibly lasting impact of one Gustavo Fring.
Portrayed by popular actor Giancarlo Esposito, Fring quickly became a fan favorite of the show despite his obviously evil tendencies.
For the unfamiliar, Fring, by using his chicken restaurant “Los Pollos Hermanos” as a front, becomes one the biggest peddlers of meth in the Southwest. After his own meth chefs are outclassed by “Breaking Bad” main character Walter White, the two enter business with each other.
White eventually betrays and murders Fring (in perhaps one of the most iconic television death scenes of the last 20 years), bringing the deep-fried drug empire down crumbling.
That was the long and short of Fring — until “Better Call Saul,” a spin-off focusing on crooked lawyer Jimmy McGill/Saul Goodman, brought back Fring and explored some of his backstory.
The “Saul” series explored what Fring was doing before he realized that Walter White was encroaching on his territory and — as Esposito often does — the role was knocked out of the park.
Given that everyone knew how Fring’s story ended, it doesn’t appear there’s much left of his story to explore (even “Breaking Bad” itself dedicated entire episodes to fleshing out Fring’s extensive background).
Despite that, Esposito wants to see yet another “Breaking Bad” spin-off (apart from “Saul,” there is also the Netflix movie “El Camino: A Breaking Bad Movie,” that serves as a direct follow-up to the series finale as well as other, shorter, content).
Esposito addressed the topic in an interview with Variety at Monday’s Emmy Awards in Los Angeles.
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Giancarlo Esposito says “I think eventually there should be, and there might be” a “Breaking Bad” spinoff centered on “The rise of Gus”: “What are the pieces that made up Gustavo Fring?” https://t.co/dY9Pcex2V0 pic.twitter.com/jGhEEElTOR
— Variety (@Variety) January 15, 2024
“Should there be [another spin-off]?” Esposito said after the topic was broached. “I think eventually there should be, and there might be.”
When pressed for more details about the spin-off he would pitch to series head honcho Vince Gilligan, Esposito said, “I would tell him, ‘The Rise of Gus.’”
Esposito noted that Gilligan was a busy man, and therefore they may have to wait a few years, but he elaborated on why he still felt that this show should be made.
“The rise of Gus is interesting,” Esposito said. “To find out what are the pieces that made up Gustavo Fring? And where did he come from in terms of his relationship to the [drug empire] hierarchy in Chile would be very interesting.
“And to see his family background.”
A cursory look at social media found that there were a number of fans excited to return to the world of “Breaking Bad” … but a good number of fans who weren’t either.
One X user succinctly explained the logic from the less-enthused side:
As great as Gus is as a character and as phenomenally Giancarlo plays him; I think they have managed to explore Gus to his full potential while maintaining a good sense of mystery to his character and Breaking Bad/El Camino/Better Call Saul is a near perfect, complete story.
— JxshWheeler (@JxshWheeler) January 16, 2024
“As great as Gus is as a character and as phenomenally Giancarlo plays him; I think they have managed to explore Gus to his full potential while maintaining a good sense of mystery to his character and Breaking Bad/El Camino/Better Call Saul is a near perfect, complete story,” the X user wrote.
There’s also the issue of logistics.
If Esposito wants to tackle yet another prequel series in a few years, they may have to resort to drastic measures to digitally de-age the actor — and you’ll be hard-pressed to find too many fans of the uncanny valley.
Regardless, if the actor and show creator want to explore this story, given the artistic and financial success of the “Breaking Bad” franchise, it’s likely just a matter of if, not when, this prequel spin-off gets the green light.
