If you were hoping for a cameo by Bryan Cranston or Aaron Paul on "Breaking Bad" spin-off "Better Call Saul," don't get your hopes up.
"Better Call Saul" executive producer Peter Gould confirmed Walter White and Jesse Pinkman won't appear in the first season of the show during a panel for the new show at the Television Critics Association Saturday (TCA).
"We want this to really stand on its own," said Gould, according to Hitfix. "We don't want to mislead people into expecting something that's not going to happen... Having said that, everything else is on the table."
According to Los Angeles Times reporter Stephen Battaglio, star Bob Odenkirk joked he asks about Cranston every time he comes into the office of the show.
"Has Walter White called yet," Odenkirk recalled.
Bob Odenkirk: Every time I come into the office on this show I say "Has Walter White called yet?" #TCA15#BetterCallSaul
— Stephen Battaglio (@SteveBattaglio) January 10, 2015
It was also noted during the panel that Pinkman's character, played by Aaron Paul, would be in late middle school or high school at this point.
Creator Vince Gilligan told press that doesn't mean we won't see other characters from "Breaking Bad." However, you'll never see a character cameo just for the sake of a cameo.
"Any of these characters from 'Breaking Bad' could theoretically appear in future seasons, but our hope is that when they do, it'll feel proper and organic. If it feels like a stunt, then we in the writers room have done something horribly wrong," said Gilligan.
"You also don't want to have the detail in the background distract you from what's going on in the foreground," he added. "We're trying to keep our eyes on the prize."
"Better Call Saul" takes place six years before Bob Odenkirk's lawyer Saul Goodman ever meets Walter White and his meth-making partner Jesse.
As for Cranston and Paul, it's not impossible to see them somewhere down the line on "Better Call Saul." Odenkirk told us a while back he'd love to have both of them on the show even if it meant in a background cameo.
"I don't know whether their characters matter that much or if we just need to hire you know Bryan and Aaron to walk behind me at the golf course or walk across the street when I'm driving my car around town. I don't know if they'll engage with the story, but they could," Odenkirk previously told Business Insider.
Though we won't see Walter White this season on "Better Call Saul," Cranston will be on set of the new AMC series directing a future episode.
Cranston previously directed three episodes of "Breaking Bad" — "Seven Thirty-Seven," "No Más," and 2013's "Blood Money." We're looking forward to it.
"Better Call Saul" premieres on AMC Sunday, February 8 at 10 p.m.
SEE ALSO: Vince Gilligan's love letter to "Breaking Bad" fans about "Better Call Saul"
AND: Watch a trailer for "Better Call Saul"
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