‘Better Call Saul’ Season 3 April Premiere Date Confirmed; Giancarlo Esposito Talks About Gus Fring’s Return, Drops Spoilers

Better Call Saul Season 3 has been confirmed to return on Apr. 10, Monday, AMC announced. As expected, the new season will welcome back Giancarlo Esposito’s Gus Fring.

Previous rumors suggested that Gus Fring will make an appearance in Better Call Saul 3 and it was also hinted at the end of Season 2 that this Breaking Bad character will return. This was then confirmed in a teaser video shared by Giancarlo Esposito himself on Twitter.

The promotional video for Better Call Saul Season 3 showed Gus Fring in a commercial for his fried chicken fast food restaurant, Los Pollos Hermanos. More interestingly, Giancarlo Esposito showed up at the Television Critics Association press tour in Pasadena, California on Saturday as his character, bringing boxes of Loss Pollos Hermanos fried chicken to reporters, Entertainment Weekly reported.

I’m back!! What you’ve been waiting for, the rise of Gus is coming! Check this out…#PollosHermanos pic.twitter.com/CLQubJVWNK

— Giancarlo Esposito (@quiethandfilms) January 11, 2017

Gus Fring’s story was already established on Breaking Bad but a more “immature” version of this character will be explored in Better Call Saul Season 3. This means that fans will not see the indestructible villain of the series that they came to love. The actor explained a little about his character and what fans can expect from the drug lord.

“We’re at a time where he’s a little more immature than where we left off. I’m reminding myself that he’s still finding his way, business man that he is, in regards to where we left off where he was at with the cartel.”

It was not always a smooth decision for the actor when it comes to reprising Gus Fring, a favorite character from Breaking Bad who was killed by a bomb explosion. Giancarlo Esposito admitted that the process of having him return for Better Call Saul Season 3 took time, but he immediately agreed when series co-creator Vince Gilligan called him up.

AMC also released an interview with Giancarlo Esposito on his return as Gus Fring for Better Call Saul Season 3. It was revealed that Esposito was “extremely excited” to be back, especially knowing that there is an opportunity to explore Gus’ backstory and how he came to be the powerful drug lord.

Fans can also see a different side to Gus Fring in Better Call Saul Season 3, Esposito said.

“He’s a different guy. He’s a little fresher, a little less jaded. The time period alone takes us to a time where his look may be little bit different.”

The actor also shared some minor spoilers for the return of Better Call Saul Season 3. According to him, fans can finally see how Mike (Jonathan Banks) and Gus are connected. Giancarlo Esposito said that fans will be excited to see how Mike got involved in the operation and how Gus ended up favored by Juan Bolsa (Javier Grajeda). This way, people will see just how great Gus is when it comes to manipulating the people around him, which makes him a great sneaky businessman.

Gilligan and series co-creator Peter Gould hinted at the TCA that Gus Fring will not necessarily show up in the premiere episode of Better Call Saul Season 3, but fans can expect the character to appear in Episode 2.

Meanwhile, besides the return of Gus Fring, Better Call Saul Season 3 will show Jimmy’s (Bob Odenkirk) rocky relationship with Kim (Rhea Seehorn) and Chuck (Michael McKeen). Jimmy confessed to his brother Chuck at the end of Season 2 that he sabotaged his cases. While the lying may have stopped and Jimmy felt relieved, Chuck, on the other hand, has other plans, which involves a tape recorder that had Jimmy’s confession.

Better Call Saul Season 3 returns to AMC on Apr. 10, Monday, 10 p.m. ET. Are you excited about Gus Fring’s return? Sound off in the comment section below.

[Featured Image by Frazer Harrison/Getty Images]