Breaking Bad movie: Is it happening and do we need it?

There’s been word that Vince Gilligan is making a Breaking Bad movie under the title Greenbrier but it’s all very vague.

First off, there have been several news pieces announcing a Breaking Bad movie, but it all seems like speculation and wishful thinking right now. Nothing has been directly confirmed and in fact, the terms: meth, Walter White and Breaking Bad have not been mentioned at all. The details are vague and the working title for the film is Greenbrier.

Sony Pictures, AMC and everyone else involved have remained silent on the topic, even though there’s plenty of evidence to suggest it’s linked to Breaking Bad. According to Albuquerque Journal, which first reported the news, an unnamed source close to the project has indeed confirmed the film’s connection to the beloved AMC series.

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Production for the film is scheduled to start in Albuquerque, New Mexico mid-November and run until early February. It is said to “follow the escape of a kidnapped man and his quest for freedom”, sounding a lot like a set up for Jesse Pinkman to star in the leading role.

In the final season, Jesse Pinkman (Aaron Paul) was abducted by Neo-Nazis Todd Alquist (Jesse Plemons) and his uncle Jack (Michael Bowen) and forced to cook meth for them. The finale, which aired in 2013, showed cancer-ridden meth king Walter White (Bryan Cranston) save Jesse and kill his kidnappers, dying in the process and leaving Jesse to finally escape the drug world.

If AMC keeps this up they’re going to be on their way towards making a fully-fledged film franchise. Just last week it was announced that The Walking Dead got rid of Rick only to give him the lead role in three Walking Dead movies. Now we got a Heisenberg film on the way, what’s next? Preacher? Mad Men? Not that I would mind seeing those.

Of course, The Walking Dead and Breaking Bad are AMC’s most popular series, but it seems ironic that the two shows fans have theorized to be linked are getting their own films. I’m not suggesting the theory of blue meth starting the Zombie Apocalypse is true, but…

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Aaron Paul as Jesse Pinkman in Breaking Bad. Photo: AMC /

If anyone can make a proper Breaking Bad film, it’s Vince Gilligan. He created the original Emmy winning series that ran for five seasons and co-created its spin-off, Better Call Saul. He knows this world inside and out, but all the same, I wonder if they should leave the series alone.

Breaking Bad is perfect from start to finish and one of the reasons is that they didn’t drag it on for five more years. It ended at its peak, giving it no time to run downhill like so many shows end up doing.

I loved Jesse. He was my favorite character, but seeing him without Walt won’t be the same and I don’t want his story to be washed out by a drawn-out two-hour sequel/spin-off. Maybe it isn’t about Jesse though; who knows?

There’s been no news on who will star in it or what characters will appear. The title Greenbrier gives away nothing for the film. There is a The Greenbrier resort in West Virginia and the word itself describes a green-stemmed North American vine of the lily family, typically prickly and with blue-black berries. Either Jesse tries moving to WV or starts gardening to cope with his PTSD, or the title is referring to something else entirely.

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This will be Gilligan’s first project since signing a three-year deal with Sony. He’ll pen the script himself and the executive producers on Better Call Saul, Mark Johnson and Melissa Bernstein, are also said to be attached to the film. According to the Film Office in New Mexico, the production will employ approximately 300 New Mexico crew members, 16 New Mexico actors and approximately 450 New Mexico background talent.

Greenbrier has no release date and no cast list, but in the meantime catch up on Better Call Saul before the fifth season premieres on AMC.

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