The ending of Season 2 of Better Call Saul took Jimmy McGill a few steps closer to becoming the conniving and charming Saul Goodman of Breaking Bad that fans know and love. While Jimmy is still years away from the events of Breaking Bad, characters are appearing left and right from the original series. Albuquerque is clearly a small city, as Season 2 has featured appearances from major characters like Tio Salamanca and The Cousins and minor characters like Ken Wins, also known as "that dude whose car Walter White messed with in Season 1 of Breaking Bad and then was never heard from again." With worlds colliding on the streets of Albuquerque, which cast of characters will be on Season 3 of Better Call Saul ? All the old standbys like Bob Odenkirk are returning, of course, but new faces may join the fray next year.
Some old fan favorites have been dropping hints that they'd be interested in returning to the shared setting of Breaking Bad and Better Call Saul to play younger versions of their established characters, and the producers of the show have even confirmed the return of one of the biggest personalities to ever step foot in New Mexico. Here's everything we know so far about who could be appearing on Better Call Saul for Season 3.
Jesse Pinkman
Aaron Paul is currently busy starring in Hulu's The Path, but that doesn't mean he's not willing to make time in his schedule for a trip to the ABQ. Paul told Variety before Season 2 that "I’m absolutely open to the idea [of appearing on Better Call Saul]. Hopefully it happens. I’m all about it." On Breaking Bad, Jesse Pinkman is the character who introduces Walter White to Saul Goodman in the first place, meaning it's likely that Jess and Saul will cross paths once Jimmy McGill completes his transformation.
Marie Schrader
While Marie isn't the character you would expect to see dealing with the criminal underbelly of ABQ, a cameo in the Better Call Saul finale was planned for the kleptomaniacal sister-in-law of Walter White. Showrunner Vince Gilligan revealed to Entertainment Weekly that she was almost used in the finale administering Chuck's CAT scan, because in Breaking Bad fans learned that Marie is a radiologic technologist. However, Gilligan and his writers decided that "it would have distracted the viewer in the moment." Brandt is still hopeful that she'll appear on the show, saying that "I would come and do craft services if that’s what they asked me to do ... There really is nothing that I wouldn’t do. I would happily run into [Jimmy or Mike] in a pizza parlor." Perhaps Brandt and Gilligan will get the Marie cameo they want in Season 3.
Gus Fring
While there's no certainty that Jesse or Marie will appear in Season 3, one character that is absolutely coming back is the biggest bad guy of all of Breaking Bad, Gustavo Fring. Fans of Breaking Bad know to look for clues in the episode titles, and Season 2 left a pretty big hint in its titles. Fans discovered that by re-arranging the first letters of the Season 2 episodes they spell out "FRINGSBACK." Executive Producers Vince Gilligan and Peter Gould revealed to Vanity Fair that the clue was intentional and that Gus Fring will appear in Season 3 of Better Call Saul, or, at the very least, his presence will be felt.
Gilligan was quick to ask fans to keep their anticipation in check, saying that "folks [shouldn't] assume that they’ll see him at the beginning of Season 3. This is a character who is very circumspect. Very cautious. He does not reveal himself easily." Whether Gus Fring appears at the beginning of Season 3, or the end of the season, or sometime Season 4, one thing is certain and that is that Gus Fring is coming.
The overlapping universes of Better Call Saul and Breaking Bad might have been difficult to balance if the writers of the shows weren't already practiced experts at paying attention to detail. The writers have been saving their cameos so that when they do happen, they will have a powerful impact on the viewer. Besides, while it's always nice to see a nod to Breaking Bad here and there, at the end of the day, Better Call Saul is one man's story. Whichever familiar faces may appear, there is one Breaking Bad character that fans like me want to see more than anyone else in this series — and that's Jimmy's evolution into Saul Goodman.
That being said, It'd still be pretty cool to see Saul chowing down at a Los Pollos Hermanos alongside Gus Fring. Season 3 can't get here soon enough.
Image: Ursula Coyote/ Sony Pictures Television/ AMC, Giphy (2)
