'Breaking Bad' Creator Vince Gilligan Will Write and Direct the Series Finale

There are eight more episodes left of “Breaking Bad” — eight installments with which to close out the story of Walter White (Bryan Cranston), high school chemistry teacher turned meth kingpin. It’s already been revealed that Cranston, who directed season two premiere “Seven Thirty-Seven” and season three premiere “No Mas,” will helm the mid-season premiere (set for summer). “Looper” director Rian Johnson, who won a DGA award last week for his work on the fantastic August episode “Fifty-One,” will also be back to direct the third-to-last episode of the series.

And now “Breaking Bad” creator and showrunner Vince Gilligan has told the Hollywood Reporter that he’ll be taking on writing and directing duties for the season finale himself. “I love directing, I just don’t get to do it often,” he said. “There’s always going to be somebody who says they wished it went a different way. But if it ends well, if it ends right… Hopefully we’re going to please the bulk of our viewers with this ending. We’re going to leave it all on the field, I can tell you that.”

READ MORE: Vince Gilligan Talks “Breaking Bad,” Knowing Where the Series Will End and the Spin-off He’d Like to See

Gilligan revealed that Johnson’s episode was written and that they’re currently working on penultimate episodes, with preproduction on the series finale begins at the end of this month. And he’s still keeping the hope alive for a Saul Goodman (Bob Odenkirk) spinoff, so there’s that.

Gilligan has only directed four episodes of the series before this, all major ones — the pilot, the season three finale “Full Measure” and the second-to-last and last episodes of season four, “End Times” and “Face Off.”

Sign Up: Stay on top of the latest breaking film and TV news! Sign up for our Email Newsletters here.