Bryan Cranston was thrilled to reunite with his Malcolm in the Middle family for a revival series after nearly two decades off the air. But it was a bittersweet reunion, as the whole gang wasn't able to return.

On the the latest episode of the Fly on the Wall podcast, the actor opened up about the upcoming Disney+ project, telling hosts Dana Carvey and David Spade, "It's amazing how these boys who were my boys on that show are now around the same age I was when we first started, and they've got children of their own."

When Spade asked about Erik Per Sullivan, who played youngest son Dewey on Malcolm, Cranston lamented that he was "the only one who didn't come back to act in the show."

He added, "I talked to Eric and I said, 'Hey, we got the show! It's going to come back.' He goes, 'Oh, that's fantastic!' And I go, 'Yeah, so we're looking forward to having you back.' He goes, 'Oh, no, no, I don't want to do it. But it's fantastic.'"

Though most of the dysfunctional TV family — filled out by Jane Kaczmarek, Frankie Muniz, Christopher Masterson, and Justin Berfield — continued on in the entertainment industry, Sullivan made a radical departure.

"He's actually going to Harvard," Cranston explained. "He's really, really smart, and he's getting his master's at Harvard right now. He said, 'Oh God, no, I haven't acted since I was 9 or something. So I'm not into it.'"

Malcolm in the Middle ran from 2000 to 2006 on Fox, making stars out of Muniz, Cranston, and Kaczmarek and winning seven Emmys. Fans had pushed for a reboot, revival, or some kind of fulsome reunion ever since, and Cranston pushed right alongside them. "It's something I was pushing for for the last 10 years, because I thought that the audience is there," he said, but it took years of talks with obstinate series creator Linwood Boomer to get things moving.

"I just started wearing him down until he said, 'I've got an idea.' I said, 'good,'" Cranston quipped.

Muniz, Masterson, and Berfield were confirmed to return as brothers Malcolm, Francis, and Reese earlier this year. The role of Dewey will now be played by Wynonna Earp alum Caleb Ellsworth-Clark.

Titular star Muniz got fans eager to see what shape the revival will take when he posted a giddily smiling photo with Cranston and Kaczmarek in April, and though he now believes Malcolm is "the worst character on that show," he admitted to being "really excited" for fans to finally catch up with their favorite TV family.

Listen to Cranston's full appearance on Fly on the Wall above.