Forget the World Cup — the back and forth intrigue and speculation on AMC’s Breaking Bad spinoff Better Call Saul has anything in soccer beat. For those of you who haven’t been keeping score… We first thought that Better Call Saul was a sequel, then we heard it might be a prequel, and then we learned its chronology would so flexible that it could take place at any point in the lifetime of its lead character (played by Bob Odenkirk). Hopefully you’ve all placed your bets but haven’t paid or collected any money just yet, because we’ve finally received official word from the network on how the show can be categorized. Variety reports that a press release has just been issued in which AMC firmly states that Better Call Saul is a prequel. Creator Vince Gilligan says, ‘It is period’ — and takes place in 2002 — ‘we tried hard on Breaking Bad to try not to be too specific where it is.’ Never one to make fans feel overly comfortable, however, Gilligan adds, “You saw on Breaking Bad that we like nonlinear storytelling.”

The network has also released two new stills (seen above) and some additional Better Call Saul cast info. Gilligan’s co-creator Peter Gould confirms, “[Michael] McKean plays Bob’s brother. We have these two comedy legends working together. He’s playing Saul’s brother. He’s one of the main characters we’ve introduced. He’s just a tremendous performer and he also answers questions about [This Is] Spinal Tap.”

According to Variety, “In regards to [Rhea] Seehorn’s character [Kim] and the inevitable comparisons to Anna Gunn’s Skyler White, Gilligan said he ‘will never write less-than-perfect women again… Rhea, she is just as cute as she can be and just a wonderful funny actress and capable [of] a great deal of depth.”

Joining McKean and Seehorn will be Patrick Fabian as Hamlin and Michael Mando as Nacho – “all characters that will represent both legitimate and illegitimate sides of the law.”