The Mysterious 'Breaking Bad' Movie, Starring Aaron Paul, Is Headed To Netflix
The Breaking Bad movie, which is still mostly shrouded in secrecy, is heading to Netflix. The streaming service will first debut the film, which has Aaron Paul returning as Jesse Pinkman. After Netflix, it will head to AMC, the network that aired Breaking Bad. This is a big reversal from the past: AMC had it first, of course, and then the series became even more popular on Netflix. It's a sign of how much has changed in the entertainment landscape, as streaming becomes more and more prevalent.
Deadline broke the news that the Breaking Bad movie is destined for Netflix. THR also confirms this, writing: "Netflix will have first-run rights to the top-secret project, which will then air on AMC." As we previously confirmed, the film is going to be a sequel, showing audiences what happened to Aaron Paul's Jesse Pinkman after the conclusion of the hit series.Spoilers for Breaking Bad follow.
At the end of the show, Jesse, who was being held prisoner and forced to cook meth by some Neo-Nazis, was rescued by his old partner/school teacher/sometimes friend/mortal enemy Walter White (Bryan Cranston). Walt didn't come to the location intending to save Jesse, as he thought Jesse was working voluntarily with the Nazis. The plan involved mounting a giant machine gun on a robot arm (yes, really), in the trunk of his car. Once Walt realized what was happening, he saved Jesse's life as the machine gun blew all the Nazis away. All but Todd (played by Jesse Plemons). Jesse then strangled Todd to death, hopped in a car, and sped away to freedom, laughing maniacally. Walt, meanwhile, died of a gunshot wound he suffered during the big shootout.
While Jesse escaped, his future was still very much in doubt as the series ended. For one thing, he was still a wanted man for his involvement cooking meth with Walt. The movie will presumably show us what Jesse did next after he drove away.
The movie will be written by series creator Vince Gilligan, who once commented on what he thought happened to Jesse after the finale:
"My personal feeling is that he got away. But the most likely thing, as negative as this sounds, is that they're going to find this kid's fingerprints all over this lab and they're going to find him within a day or a week or a month. And he's still going to be on the hook for the murder of two federal agents. But yeah, even though that's the most likely outcome, the way I see it is that he got away and got to Alaska, changed his name, and had a new life. You want that for the kid. He deserves it."
As of now, Paul is the only cast member confirmed to return for the film, but rumors abound that other actors from the show will be back as well. Whether or not that includes Bryan Cranston is still a mystery. There's also a chance that Bob Odenkirk's Saul Goodman might pop up, since that character now has his own spin-off show, the excellent Better Call Saul.
An interesting side-note: Deadline says that while this is very much a movie, there's a chance AMC might break it up into a series: "The script is being shot as a feature though it has not been determined yet how it will air, as a film or cut into episodes." Personally, I hope it stays a movie, but we'll see.
Overall, I'm cautiously optimistic about this. A part of me liked the ambiguity of Jesse's escape, but I'm such a fan of Breaking Bad and Better Call Saul that I'm excited to see what happens here.