Bob Odenkirk Reveals How Many ‘Breaking Bad’ Characters Will Appear In ‘Better Call Saul’

After news spread about the Breaking Bad spinoff Better Call Saul, the biggest questions fans wanted to know was who from the Breaking Bad universe would be appearing in the show. There was much debate over whether or not the main characters Walter White or Jesse Pinkman would show up, and now it seems like they may appear after all. In addition to that, Bob Odenkirk revealed that the list of familiar faces will be surprisingly long.

According to Digital Spy, Odenkirk recently revealed that the first season of Better Call Saul will feature about four or five characters from Breaking Bad. This may not seem like a lot, but for a show that takes place well before the events of Breaking Bad, that’s not an unsubstantial portion of characters.

“Here’s what you need to know,” Odenkirk explained. “The writers have a board in the writing room, and it has all the characters from Breaking Bad on it. Like, little characters who just walked through or were referenced. If you go into that world, I think you’ll see four or five of them… You”ll see more, or [at least] hear about more.”

This doesn’t mean that major players from Breaking Bad will have a huge impact on the plot of Better Call Saul, nor does it promise anything more than a cameo. However, the first season did surprise fans with an appearance from the Season 1 villain of Breaking Bad, drug lord Tuco, played by Raymond Cruz. According to People, Tuco’s appearance was not only unexpected, but of a different personality than depicted in Breaking Bad. While Tuco is still violent and vicious, the Better Call Saul version of Tuco hasn’t yet gone completely crazy and is actually willing to listen and negotiate.

It seems from Odenkirk’s hint that Better Call Saul viewers can expect more cameos along the lines of Tuco. Opening up the show to Breaking Bad villains allows for many possibilities, including other drug dealers like Crazy Eight or the terrifying Gus Fring. Cinema Blend is confident that the show will find effective ways to incorporate the old characters, judging by how well they implemented Tuco.

To see Bob Odenkirk discuss the differences of playing Saul on Breaking Bad versus the new show, check out the video below.

Catch Better Call Saul on AMC Sunday Nights in the U.S., or on Netflix in the U.K.