'Better Call Saul' season 3: A different Saul Goodman and the rise of Gus Fring's drug empire

“Better Call Saul” season 3 will be debuting in less than a month, and the details of the upcoming episodes are getting clearer as the days go by. Bob Odenkirk, who plays Jimmy McGill in the show, recently confirmed that his character will be making his transformation to Saul Goodman this season -- but not exactly how audiences will remember him.

As the spinoff prequel to “Breaking Bad,” audiences are not exactly strangers to the world of Saul. There is generally a preconceived notion of who he is as a person, both professionally and personally. He knows how to get things done, he knows how to work around the law and he knows people from the other side of the fence. But with the upcoming season, Odenkirk confirmed that a different side to Saul will be showcased.

“You’ll get to see Saul Goodman,” he said in Berlin on Wednesday, as quoted by the Hollywood Reporter. “But he is not what you saw in ‘Breaking Bad.’ That character will appear but in a slightly different form than you’ve seen it.”

So while his statement confirms that Jimmy will become Saul in the upcoming season, it is also clear that his fall -- if it can be considered as such -- will be a gradual one. Perhaps it just means that he will take on a morally-challenged client by the name of Gus Fring. And as Odenkirk also confirmed, actor Giancarlo Esposito will be a significant part of the “Better Call Saul” family and will not just be a passing cameo.

“Not only is Gus back, but there is a story with him,” Odenkirk said. “We get to know more about his empire building, more about Gus’ empire and how be built it.”

Fans of the whole franchise will remember Gus as the owner of Los Pollos Hermanos and the first major distributor of Walter White’s blue-coloured product. By the time he was introduced in “Breaking Bad,” however, he was already an established man with a strong drug empire. Learning about his story is sure to be one of the highlights of season 3.

“Better Call Saul” season 3 will debut on April 10 in the United States via US network AMC. Australian audiences can stream the show on Stan.