After roles in Narcos and Game of Thrones, actor Pedro Pascal earned a top billing as the villain Maxwell Lord for Wonder Woman 1984. But it’s the casting in that movie, which has not yet been released, that’s lead to his role as the title character in Star Wars: The Mandalorian on Disney+. And because of these opportunities, Pascal is now blowing up in Hollywood and has the chance to become of the top leading men in the industry. And that kind of potential is exactly why Wonder Woman 1984 director Patty Jenkins decided to cast Pascal in her upcoming superhero movie.
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During a recent interview with Variety, Jenkins spoke about Pascal and her decision to cast the actor in the role.
“I continually am so surprised when everybody pegs him as such a serious guy,” said Jenkins. “I have to say, Pedro is one of the most appealing people I have known. He instantly becomes someone that everybody invites over and you want to have around and you want to talk to.”
Pascal and Jenkins revealed they worked together on a pilot that wasn’t picked up right before his appearance on Game of Thrones, and Pascal said he didn’t think Jenkins would remember him. But the Wonder Woman 1984 director knew he was perfect for the task at hand.
“I worked with him, so I knew him,” Jenkins said. “I didn’t need him to prove anything for me. I just loved the idea of him, and I thought he would be kind of unexpected, because he doesn’t scream ‘villain.’”
The new Wonder Woman movie is reportedly premiering in theaters on Christmas Day, but with all of the uncertainty surrounding movie releases in the age of the coronavirus pandemic, that could easily change. Most major movie releases have moved out of 2020 altogether while some studios have moved blockbusters back a year from 2021, so it seems like it will be a while before a major studio has the confidence to release a big budget film in this climate.
Wonder Woman 1984 remains one of the biggest film releases still on the calendar, though after the lackluster domestic box office performance of Tenet it seems likely that Warner Bros. could be considering a delay. While these decisions remain to be seen, they should not be major surprises considering all of the changes that taken place this year due to COVID-19 and the coronavirus pandemic.
Wonder Woman 1984 is currently set to release in theaters on December 25th.
