Better Call Saul boss Peter Gould explains the return of Breaking Bad favourite Ed the Disappearer
Note: This article contains spoilers for the season 5 premiere of Better Call Saul.
Better Call Saul returned last night (February 23) and gave us a glimpse at Jimmy McGill's first days operating under the name of Saul Goodman, as well as extended flashback to his days as Gene.
But that wasn't all. The jam-packed episode also featured a return from the late Robert Forster as Ed the Disappearer, who made a very memorable and award-winning appearance in the penultimate episode of Breaking Bad.
Speaking to Entertainment Weekly, Saul co-creator Peter Gould talked about how his appearance was originally going to be just a voice cameo, and how Forster's death has made his appearance much more poignant.
"I was lucky enough to write and direct his one appearance on Breaking Bad," he said. "It’s hard to believe, but he was only in one episode. I had such a great time with him. We’d been looking for an opportunity to have him back on Better Call Saul.
Related: Better Call Saul will be bringing back another Breaking Bad character
"And then Vince wrote him into El Camino, which was great. Those things probably happened almost simultaneously. I’m not sure if we had the idea of having him back on Better Call Saul first. But the truth is, when I wrote the first draft of the season opener, I didn’t think we would see him.
"But then while they were shooting El Camino, Melissa Bernstein, our brilliant producer, called me up and said, 'How would you like to see him instead of just hearing him?' And I said, 'Hell, yes!' Vince agreed to shoot Robert’s half of the phone call during the El Camino shoot, and El Camino was shot long before we started shooting this season of Better Call Saul."
He continued: "Robert was on board, so I quickly rewrote the script to show his side of the conversation. And at the time I thought, 'This is just great, efficient producing.' It was fun to have that half of the phone call done.
Related: El Camino's Aaron Paul reveals whether fans will see Jesse in Better Call Saul
"But now looking back on it, it’s so much more meaningful to have one last look at Robert in our world."
He added: "We had the screening of the premiere episode, and there were nine members of his family who came, and it was just so wonderful to see them. And, you know, we miss him... It’s a very special thing to have him on the show."
Better Call Saul airs on Sunday nights on AMC in the US. It airs a day later on Netflix in the UK.
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