Comic-Con 2012: ‘Breaking Bad’ Poster Teases the Return of a Key Character

We’re counting down the days until ‘Breaking Bad’ returns for the start of its fifth season on Sunday, July 15. We need to know what Walt (Bryan Cranston) and Jesse (Aaron Paul) do in light of the explosive season 4 finale. Now a new poster that will be available to fans at Comic-Con 2012 suggests the return of an old character, and a possible new direction for the show.

Only 200 prints of the below image were made. It shows Walt and Jesse staring each other down, but also features “Old Joe,” a junkyard proprietor played by character actor Larry Hankin who bailed our heroes out of a tight bind back when it looked like they were going to get pinched by the DEA.

Fans on TV Line (which got the first look at the image) are speculating on how “Old Joe” might tie in to the new season. We’ll leave spoiler-y speculation to our comments section.

But if you’re going to be in San Diego, this limited edition poster will sell for $50 beginning on Saturday at the Golden Apple Comic/G1988 booth (No. 405). In addition, the cast (including Cranston and Paul) and series creator Vince Gilligan are scheduled to do a signing at the Sony booth Saturday at 10 a.m.

Check out the full poster image below. What do you think it means?