What do those cryptic Breaking Bad tweets mean? The best (and worse) theories

Now, some have said the mischievous pair are just trolling fans. Others have suggested that the two actors are set to start their own version of Jackass or a Blackpool-based period drama.

We, however, are fully in favour of the idea this photo references the upcoming Breaking Bad movie, a spin-off of the TV show that made Cranston and Paul famous.

Prepare to clutch at some straws…

Bryan Cranston will feature in the Breaking Bad movie

Before these tweets, it wasn’t clear if Cranston would appear, the actor saying in 2018 that he hadn’t seen a script for the movie.

At the time, that made a lot of sense. The film was believed to follow Jessie Pinkman’s character after the events of the Breaking Bad finale in which (SPOILERS YIELDING) Cranston’s Walter White seemingly died on a meth lab floor.

Now, we can’t be completely sure Walter White will return in some form – perhaps in a flashback, or a ghost-like form that haunts Jessie – but these synchronised tweets indicate Cranston is involved in the making of this film. It’s true he could be a producer (alongside original showrunner Vince Gilligan) but more likely is Cranston will appear in an acting role.

After all, what would a Breaking Bad film be without an appearance from Walter White?

The photo is a reference to drug mules

Since Breaking Bad centres on the drug trade – the making and selling of blue crystal meth, to be precise – what if the photo is actually a reference to drug mules aka smugglers.

The desert-looking background may also be significant. Often mules move illegal substances over borders ­– which might mean the film centres on smuggling drugs between the US and Mexico, a plot element we saw in the Breaking Bad TV show.

It could be a reference to this brilliant Tuco line

It's probably absolutely nothing to do with the Breaking Bad film, but the tweets give us a chance to repeat Tuco's first review of Walter's meth in season one: “This kicks like a mule with its balls wrapped in duct tape!”

The mules are a reference to a Breaking Bad in-universe advert

That’s the thinking of some clever Redditors who noticed parallels between the animals tweeted and the mules in an advert for Los Pollos Hermanos that were seen in season three episode Kafkaesque.

Callback, yo!

As fans of Breaking Bad and prequel Better Call Saul will know, Los Pollos was the fried chicken chain run by Giancarlo Esposito’s Gus Fring, a drug lord posing as an Albuquerque business magnate and philanthropist. The mule photos could mean that Gus – or at least his restaurant chain – will also feature in the film.

However, like Walter, Gus was (SPOILERS!) killed off in the show, blown up by arch-rival Hector Salamanca. Could the character return in a flashback?

There’s also the possibility – albeit a slim one – that Gus and Walter will both appear in the film that could be set during the events of Breaking Bad. Maybe, just maybe, the movie could even serve as a bridge between Better Call Saul and Breaking Bad.

A teaser trailer is imminent

Not convinced with the ideas above? Even if your instinct is to tread lightly when it comes to theories, the “soon” caption definitely tells fans they have something to look forward to.

But it’s probably not the movie itself. It seems impossible that Vince Gilligan could already have shot the entire film in secret. And even less likely that a marketing team would allow its release without a pretty lengthy marketing campaign.

Our guess: either we’re about to hear a big announcement or – best case scenario – a short teaser trailer.

Either way, if you think big Breaking Bad news isn't far off, you’re god damn right. Probably.