Better Call Saul doesn’t exactly need anyone’s help being a great and critically acclaimed show. Between the peek into Saul Goodman’s life back when he was Jimmy McGill, the legal drama surrounding nursing homes and white collar law firms, and even some romantic mystery, there is more than enough for new and old fans alike to feast upon in the first season and a half of the show. Plus, there is the constant presence of Mike Ehrmantraut for any Breaking Bad fans who need a small dose of the original show in their prequel stew. But what fans of both shows have been dying to know (and have been speculating about constantly) is what other Breaking Bad characters might be making an appearance in the origin story of Saul Goodman.
This weekend at a PaleyFest panel, Vince Gilligan and other members of the show came clean about the chances that Walter White or Jesse Pinkman might be strolling by in the show, even casually. From the sounds of it, people hoping for a member of the White family to make a cheeky appearance are bound to be disappointed.
“It’s difficult not to overdo it,” said Gilligan. “We love all these characters and actors from the Breaking Baduniverse. The difficulty is maintaining a level of self discipline to stop yourself from saying, ‘Lets have this person walk through the background,’ or, ‘Let’s have this person get splashed by mud as Jimmy drives by.’ ”
That said, there will be a major guest appearance in an upcoming episode that will make many people happy. (Spoilers, obviously.) According to Deadline, the menacing Tuco will make a call to a well known third member of he and Nacho’s family to bail himself out of a jam.
Mark Margolis, who played the invalid cartel drug-runner Hector ‘Tio’ Salamanca on Breaking Bad from seasons 2 to 4, [is] making his Better Call Saul debut. And he’s seen for before the stroke that renders him mute and incapacitated throughout Breaking Bad, bargaining with Jonathan Banks’ Mike to go easy on his nephew Tuco.
That’s right, not only will Tio Salamanca be showing up to go toe-to-toe with Mike, but he’ll be doing it while walking and talking – something that Breaking Bad viewers never got to witness. That can only bode well for explosive showdown potential. The important thing is that Tio may be the opening of the flood gates of possibility if his cameo goes well. Gilligan and company stressed that any appearance needs to be organic, and what could be more organic than Gus Fring walking into a scene holding a bucket of fried chicken or Walter, Jr. strolling over to the law firm with a plate of waffles? Fans might not get to see Aaron Paul reprise his role as Jesse, but as far as everybody else goes they can keep hoping Gilligan works them in an “organic” way.
(via Deadline)
