The season 2 finale of Better Call Saul dropped some big hints that the next Breaking Bad character to surface on the prequel was none other than Gus Fring. (See: The first letter of each episode title in season 2, the note on Mike’s windshield in the finale.)
But now hints have morphed into cold, hard facts: Bad‘s best villain —who met an explosive end in the season 4 finale — is officially back in action, as Giancarlo Esposito will reprise his role as the chilling, restrained drug lord who ran a fast-food chicken restaurant empire as well.
Esposito confirmed his return on Wednesday, tweeting, “I’m back!! What you’ve been waiting for, the rise of Gus is coming!” AMC released a brief statement as well, simply saying, “Gus Fring will appear in season 3 of Better Call Saul.” Neither the network nor Esposito is saying how big the role is or how many episodes that he will appear in.
Are you excited but still in need of visual proof? Esposito included in his tweet a new Los Pollos Hermanos “Taste the Family” commercial that features Gus in that yellow shirt and black tie. “Come in and try our new curly fries,” he tells the camera. “We are so sure you’ll like them. And if you don’t, they’re on me.” Chilling, indeed.
Esposito’s post-Bad credits include Once Upon a Time, Revolution, and Allegiance. He has a recurring role on Netflix’s The Get Down and is a series regular on the upcoming BET drama Rebel.
Other Breaking Bad characters to surface on Better Call Saul — besides, of course, Saul Goodman/Jimmy McGill (Bob Odenkirk) and Mike Ehrmantraut (Jonathan Banks) — include Tuco (Raymond Cruz), Hector (Mark Margolis), Ken (Kyle Bornheimer), Krazy-8 (Max Arciniega), Lawson (Jim Beaver), and the Salamanca cousins (Daniel and Luis Moncada).
Season 3 of Better Call Saul begins this spring on AMC. To see the first footage from the new season, click here, and to peek at some first-look photos, click here.
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