Jonathan Banks Breaking Bad Character Photo - P 2014
Frank Ockenfels/AMCBetter Call Saul will be quite the Breaking Bad reunion. Alum Jonathan Banks has come aboard the spinoff.
Reps for AMC and producers Sony Pictures Television confirmed to The Hollywood Reporter that Banks will join titular star Bob Odenkirk as a series regular, reprising the role of Mike Ehrmantraut in the Albuquerque-set prequel.
“There’s obviously a danger inherent in doing a spinoff, but I just love the character of Saul Goodman [Odenkirk] so much, and part of me doesn’t want to say no to this world,” Breaking Bad and Better Call Saul creator Vince Gilligan told THR in an October cover story, optimistic that many cast members would return. “Personally, I’d have a hard time resisting putting all these guys in for a cameo or two every now and then.”
THR COVER: Breaking Bad’s Vince Gilligan Reveals Spin-off Details and Terror Over What’s Next
Cameo status for the likes of Bryan Cranston or Aaron Paul are still on the table for Better Call Saul, which has yet to nail down any other series regulars aside from Odenkirk and now Banks.
A specific date has yet to be set for Better Call Saul, but AMC has announced that the show will launch in November. Gilligan updated reporters on his project backstage at the Golden Globes earlier in January, when Breaking Bad took top TV drama.
“We are plugging away on Better Call Saul — in our fourth week in the writers’ room on that — and [executive producer] Peter Gould and I will be hitting up all these wonderful actors for cameos at some point,” Gilligan said. “We have to figure out how to work that out, story-wise.”
Banks was a regular for two and a half seasons of Breaking Bad, earning the actor an Emmy nomination in 2013. He’s currently recurring on Sony TV comedy Community.
