Ten years after its premiere and five years after its series finale, the "Breaking Bad story" will continue on as a movie.
The Vince Gilligan created series went from the little AMC show that could to one of the most popular shows of all-time. It was the first "binge-watch" show of the Netflix streaming era even though it was not a Netflix original. It's characters, lines and imagery have been ingrained into its era of pop culture that feels so long ago.
Therefore, it was probably inevitable that the "Breaking Bad" franchise was going to continue somehow as it has in the spin-off series "Better Call Saul", and now it's going to make its cinematic debut with the first "Breaking Bad" movie.
Some fans love it, purists might hate it, so let's take a look at what's good and bad about "Breaking Bad" continuing on the Big Screen.
(SPOILER WARNING)
Pros:
The most interesting story you can tell in a Breaking Bad movie post-finale is what happens to Jesse Pinkman after the finale. We're left with an exhilarated and exhausted Pinkman escaping his drug prison and screaming delightfully at being free. Most people know what in reality Pinkman probably isn't riding off into the sunset and authorities will surely be looking for him.
Wherever Pinkman goes, it'll be fascinating to see how he rebuilds his life, and the fact that Aaron Paul will get to reprise his iconic role is great for the entertainment industry.
In the series finale, Walt leaves nine million dollars to his ex-business partner to give to his son Walt Jr. when he turns 18. Seeing how that "generous donation" occurs and how the surviving White family will react to it will be very interesting. It's also a great opportunity to show Walt's widow Skyler as a more central character to the story instead of what most fans considered to be an annoying inconvenience. My defense of Skyler as a character can be read here.
Cons:
First of all, it's incredibly difficult to tell a Breaking Bad story without Walter White. White (supposedly) dies in the series finale of a gunshot wound.
In fact, almost every character from the series finale is dead except for Jesse, Skyler, Walt Jr. and Saul.
If it turns out that Walt survived the series finale and is in the movie then it'll feel like being cheated out of closure from the series.
For years, everyone knew that Walt had to die. Either through getting caught and killed or through his lung cancer. The idea that that he never got a comeuppance for cheating the system (no matter how much we rooted for him), makes the series itself incomplete.
In the preferred scenario that Walt remains dead, it's still going to make the movie automatically pale in comparison to the show. Even though the "Breaking Bad" side characters are great, Walt was THE SHOW. It revolved around him, followed him, and became as successful as it did because of him. Taking that element out in a movie adaptation without it's central character could make the movie a failure.
Then again, if they also make that rumored Sopranos movie with Tony Soprano (presumably) dead after the infamous series finale (the real life actor James Gandolfini also sadly passed since in real life), most fans would be willing to watch and support it.
Vince Gilligan and the writers staff will have to work really hard make a "Breaking Bad" movie nearly as compelling as the series.
Feel free to let me know what you think of the upcoming "Breaking Bad" film!
