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‘Breaking Bad’ Netflix movie ‘El Camino’ - everything you need to know

Breaking Bad's Aaron Paul and Bryan Cranston (credit: AMC)
Breaking Bad's Aaron Paul and Bryan Cranston (credit: AMC)

A Breaking Bad spin-off movie might have sounded like the product of a meeting between producers under the influence of blue meth when it was first announced, but it really is happening - and El Camino: A Breaking Bad Movie lands on 11 October.

Sure, the central character, Walter White, is deader than the last person to annoy Heisenberg, but Aaron Paul’s Jesse Pinkman is still out in the world, behind the wheel of the El Camino car that gives the first Breaking Bad movie (and the second official spin-off, after Better Call Saul) its title.

The Netflix original is rumoured to start immediately after the show’s final moments, following Jesse’s escape from the clutches of Jack Welker’s white supremacist gang.

The official synopsis certainly seems to support the theory: ‘In the wake of his dramatic escape from captivity, Jesse must come to terms with his past in order to forge some kind of future.’

Read more: Breaking Bad's Aaron Paul drops El Camino movie teaser

Whatever it’s about, Bryan Cranston is looking forward to it. “It’s a great story and there are a lot of people who felt that they wanted to see some kind of completion to some of these storylines that were left open,” Cranston said. “This idea, from what I’m told, gets into those.”

Cast member Bryan Cranston (L) speaks next to co-star Aaron Paul at a panel for the television series "Breaking Bad" during the AMC portion of the Television Critics Association Summer press tour in Beverly Hills, California July 26, 2013.   REUTERS/Mario Anzuoni  (UNITED STATES - Tags: ENTERTAINMENT)
Cast member Bryan Cranston (L) speaks next to co-star Aaron Paul at a panel for the television series "Breaking Bad" 2013. REUTERS/Mario Anzuoni

It’s interesting that Cranston would be told anything at all, considering the levels of secrecy around the film, and the fact that he’s definitely not in it… Or is he?

El Camino could easily involve flashbacks or - more likely - visions involving Walter White. We can see a traumatised Pinkman having visions of his old mentor. Give us Breaking Bad meets Fight Club, please.

“I don’t know if there’s an appearance — flashbacks, flash forwards — but I’m excited about it because it’s Breaking Bad and it was the greatest professional period of my life and I can’t wait to see all those people again, even if I just come by to visit,” Cranston said in November last year.

Read more: Aaron Paul and Bryan Cranston's receive backlash from fans

Obviously, there’s no sign of Walter White in the first teaser trailer, but then there’s no sign of Jesse Pinkman either. Instead, the spotlight falls to Skinny Pete, as he’s interrogated by police.

We’ve also had a montage trailer, bringing together all of Pinkman’s worst moments from all five seasons of Breaking Bad. Warning: the video is intense, he had a pretty rubbish time during that series.

So, aside from all that, we’ve pulled on our yellow jump-suits, put on our breathing equipment, and stepped into the meth lab of El Camino gossip to bring you all the latest information.

El Camino release date - when’s it out?

The movie will land on Netflix on October 11, with the streaming service securing first-run rights before the film airs on its original network AMC - this means El Camino will air globally, ensuring the UK will get it at the same time as the US. As Jesse would probably say, ‘yeah b****!’

El Camino plot - what’s it about?

Outside of the synopsis, we’ve had very little plot information - but an old interview with writer/creator Vince Gilligan, where he speculated what happened to Jesse after the show, might reveal the rough story of the film.

El Camino poster (credit: Netflix)
El Camino poster (credit: Netflix)

“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.”

El Camino cast - who will be in it?

Another massively secretive element of El Camino is the cast. Outside of Aaron Paul and Charles Baker (Skinny Pete) no-one’s been confirmed. But we can hazard a couple of guesses.

Anna Gunn, who played Skylar White on the show, was asked about an appearance in the movie, to which she replied: ‘I am not allowed to say anything. A little mystery.’

So, yeah, that probably means she’s in it. People aren’t generally not allowed to talk about films they’re not in.

Cast member Bob Odenkirk poses at the premiere for season 3 of the television series "Better Call Saul" in Culver City, California U.S., March 28, 2017. REUTERS/Mario Anzuoni
Cast member Bob Odenkirk poses at the premiere for season 3 of the television series "Better Call Saul" in Culver City, California U.S., March 28, 2017. REUTERS/Mario Anzuoni

Better Call Saul’s Bob Odenkirk also seems to know quite a lot about the project for someone who hasn’t been confirmed as being in it. He was the first person to confirm the movie had been shot in secret.

“I don’t know what people know and don’t know,” he said. “I find it hard to believe you don’t know it was shot. They did it. You know what I mean? How is that a secret? But it is. They’ve done an amazing job of keeping it a secret.”

Does this mean Odenkirk will reprise his role as dodgy criminal lawyer Jimmy McGill, otherwise known as Saul Goodman, in the film? We wouldn’t litigate against it.

El Camino: A Breaking Bad Movie will rev onto Netflix on 11 October.