10 Movies That Were Filmed In Total Secrecy

The existence of a Breaking Bad spin-off movie was only confirmed by Netflix some six weeks before its release, roughly six months after the film's 50-day shoot had been completed.

Writer-director Vince Gilligan went to extreme lengths to keep production a secret, such as casting minor roles without revealing the film's title, and encouraging cast and crew members not to tell their families what they were working on.

Despite most of the film being shot in Albuquerque much like the TV series, the shoot largely flew under the radar, filmed under the working title "Greenbrier" with most of the show's original crew members.

When it came to shooting Bryan Cranston's top-secret cameo as Walter White, the actor was flown to the set via private jet and given a disguise to wear on his way from the airport, while being quartered away in an Airbnb for his two days of work.

For Walt's scene in the diner, the extras consisted entirely of the crew and their family members.

Throughout the shoot, actors were instructed to avoid off-set contact with one another and flat-out lie about the project if necessary.

It all paid off dividends in the end, then, when fans were gobsmacked to learn that the movie wasn't only complete, but they had to wait just six weeks to watch it.

Better still, it ended up delivering an affecting post-script to the main series well worth the cloak-and-dagger approach. Bravo.