The Summer of Pedro Pascal Is Here, But Is He Here For It?

My fifth-grader knows who Pedro Pascal is. She has seen him in one movie, Wonder Woman 1984, and has heard his voice in one TV show, The Mandalorian, both before she could recognize any actors besides Margot Robbie, Jack Black, or The Rock. She still hasn’t seen much of him, but through sheer power of trailers and hype, she now knows him by name; that’s just the kind of year he’s having. After appearing in this season of The Last of Us and the Sundance holdover Freaky Tales, Pascal is co-starring in three very different summer blockbusters, released over the course of six weeks: Celine Song’s Materialists, which is hitting premium VOD this week; Eddington, which just opened; and The Fantastic Four: First Steps, which is about to make a whole bunch of money this coming weekend. If you have the time and the inclination, a Pedro Pascal new-release triple feature could very well be in the offing for you.

The odd thing about this Pascal domination is how he’s clearly more than a character actor, appearing highly billed in all three movies, yet only Fantastic Four casts him as a genuine, front-and-center lead. In Materialists, he plays Harry, a rich potential client for matchmaker Lucy (Dakota Johnson) who pursues her rather than her services – a true gentleman who is reserved, seemingly even-tempered, and quietly confident (despite the movie revealing some insecurities that he has essentially tried to landscape out of existence). In Eddington, he plays Ted Garcia, the mayor of a small New Mexico town who is challenged by his sheriff (Joaquin Phoenix) during the height of COVID – but the expected face-off between a more conservative-minded lawman and a pandering-left politician never really materializes. The movie spends way more time with Phoenix, in all of his mumbling and shuffling glory, than the more polished Pascal character. And yes, he plays Reed “Mr. Fantastic” Richards in the newest iteration of Fantastic Four, but the dynamics of those characters have always been wrapped up in their status as a quartet, not a singular Iron Man-style hero. Put together, it feels surprisingly recessive for such a big-named actor. Are these movies ill-serving Pascal, or is this part of his strategy?

It’s likely a combination of both. The degree to which both Materialists and Eddington seem to sideline Pascal in their respective second halves feel, if not completely wrongheaded, like a bit of a bait-and-switch, presuming his popularity is at least part of the reason he was cast to begin with. That’s part of both Celine Song and Ari Aster’s schema for their films. He’s in Materialists to seem like a more-or-less universally great catch: nice, good-looking, rich. The movie uses his movie-star aura – as well as the fact that, no, he hasn’t precisely starred in a big hit movie yet. He just seems like he has, or will, or should. Eddington makes more nefarious use of his steadiness and charisma as a politician who might be a bit of a lightweight (Eddington, New Mexico doesn’t exactly seem like a stepping-stone to national attention, and his gestures toward social justice feel a little canned) but certainly seems to live well.

Photo: Courtesy Everett Collection

Both movies imply a certain softness about their Pascal character. It’s not that their wealth has necessarily insulated them, but neither seems driven by an urge for conflict; his big movie characters in general have been surprisingly non-confrontational. Any expected boy-versus-boy kerfuffle in the Materialists love triangle doesn’t appear; though his character more directly acknowledges the Eddington stand-off, it winds up pretty one-sided. Pascal has a gentility about him that makes him an instant generator of empathy, and probably accounts for some of his passionate fanbase; he doesn’t seem like an alpha-male jackass. Much of his arc in The Fantastic Four: First Steps also hinges on his sensitivity, his intelligence, and his willingness to assess the situation at hand (whether that’s world-consuming cosmic powers or the impending birth of his first child), rather than acting with rash power flexes.

For that matter, he was surprisingly sympathetic as Maxwell Lord, the villain of Wonder Woman 1984. He’s given the little-boy powers of a wishing rock and using it to amass power by granting the wishes of others – all so he could project the image of success. He’s less confident than any of his characters from this summer, but similarly conflict-avoidant. He’s not trying to pick a fight with Wonder Woman; he just wants to be a big shot. It makes the character and performance more interesting, but less grabby than some other superhero villains, foreshadowing his 2025 work, the quiet nuance of which could be mistaken for, well, underwhelming. As hero scientists go, his Reed Richards is not as showy Iron Man in the verbal department, nor as visually striking as Bruce Banner changing into the Hulk. His body-stretching powers are largely an afterthought until the movie’s action climax. That’s not a knock on Pascal, but it’s not a major Marvel star turn either way.

Fans of Pascal unto himself might be best-served by checking out Freaky Tales, a little-seen Sundance acquisition that quietly opened earlier this spring and is now available to rent at home for six bucks or so. Once again, he’s not the unequivocal lead; the film has four overlapping stories, not unlike Pulp Fiction, and Pascal features heavily in one, about a criminal enforcer who tries to go straight, then, failing that, tries to get some violent revenge. It helps that it’s a more active role for Pascal, though what lingers is, again, the quiet tenderness that emerges even in moments of despair or rage. The structure of Freaky Tales allows him to recede into the background for much of the movie and command the spotlight when needed; the latter is something that Materialists and Eddington, by design, don’t really ask him to do. So far, his defining quality as a movie star may be his slight reticence – the feeling that he could be the main character, but holds himself back, secretly unsure of whether he’s the real deal.

Jesse Hassenger (@rockmarooned) is a writer living in Brooklyn. He’s a regular contributor to The A.V. Club, Polygon, and The Week, among others. He podcasts at www.sportsalcohol.com, too.