PopCorners has reunited the stars of Breaking Bad for a new Super Bowl commercial, and it's been released early ahead of the big game. The 60-second ad brings back both Bryan Cranston and Aaron Paul to play their respective roles as Walter White and Jesse Pinkman, though instead of cooking meth, they've created PopCorners, the ultimate snack food. Raymond Cruz returns to appear in the ad as well with Tuco Salamanca striking a deal for the PopCorners with Walt and Jesse.
While some things change, others stay the same, and this in many ways feels like a scene lifted straight from Breaking Bad. The actors slipped back into their characters effortlessly, though they did have some practice with guest appearances in Better Call Saul. The ad also hilariously spoofs an actual scene in Breaking Bad when Walt and Jesse go into business with Tuco, the start of a cavalcade of unfortunate events.
This is not the first time Breaking Bad has been used for a Super Bowl parody ad. In 2015, Cranston appeared as Walter White in an ad for Esurance. The character was working at a pharmacy wearing his meth cooking garb, looking rather out of place. He even speaks his famous phrase, "Say my name."
Breaking Bad Remains Popular a Decade After Ending
Breaking Bad ran for five seasons from 2008 to 2013. The series has maintained its popularity in the years since with a dedicated fanbase rewatching the show on Netflix. Created by Vince Gilligan, the show follows Bryan Cranston as Walter White, a high school chemistry teacher diagnosed with lung cancer. To ensure his family is supported financially after his death, Walter enlists the help of a former student, Jesse Pinkman (Aaron Paul), to help him produce and distribute high-quality meth. The acclaimed series won a plethora of prestigious awards, including 16 Primetime Emmy Awards, and is widely regarded as one of the greatest TV shows of all time.
The show had a spinoff series, Better Call Saul, which aired for six seasons from 2015 to 2022. Both Cranston and Paul reprised their roles as Walt and Jesse, but not until the final season. The show primarily serves as an origin story of Bob Odenkirk's Saul Goodman, Walt and Jesse's attorney. But even with that show ending last year, it was clearly not long at all for fans to get another peek back into that universe, even if it's for a parody commercial for PopCorners.