Actor Pedro Pascal has an eventful lineup in the coming years. While he is awaiting the release of Gladiator 2 with Paul Mescal, he will be starring as Mr. Fantastic in the MCU’s upcoming Fantastic Four film. He will also be starring in the noir thriller Tropico along with Willem Dafoe and will be collaborating with Hereditary director Ari Aster in the film Eddington along with an ensemble cast.
However, the actor’s most-awaited appearance is in the second season of the HBO series The Last of Us. The sci-fi drama has been filming since February and is reportedly aiming for a 2025 release. Recently, it was reported that Pascal had wrapped filming for his portions of the season, leading fans to be worried for the worst. However, HBO has now debunked the rumors. Spoilers ahead for The Last of Us season 2.
HBO Squashes Rumors Of Pedro Pascal Wrapping Filming For The Last Of Us 2
Pedro Pascal is all set to reprise his role as Joel in the second season of HBO’s acclaimed sci-fi drama The Last of Us. Based on the popular game by Naughty Dog, the series was lauded upon release for its faithfulness to its source material and performances by Pascal, Nick Offerman, and Bella Ramsey.
Adapted by Craig Mazin and Neil Druckmann for the screen, the show received various accolades during awards season, with Pascal winning the SAG Award for Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Drama Series. Mazin mentioned to Variety that the second season of the series would start filming in February, hoping to make it for a 2025 release.
Recently, industry insider Daniel Richtman revealed that Pedro Pascal had wrapped filming for the second season of the show. Richtman’s report also mentioned that the rest of the shoot would go on till August of 2024. With filming confirmed to have begun in February, the short duration of the shoot for Pascal led to fans fearing that the actor’s tenure in the series would be cut short.
However, the rumors were reportedly debunked by HBO. Responding to a query by IGN, representatives of the channel reportedly mentioned that the Narcos star still had filming to do. They also stated to IGN that the reports about Pascal’s filming schedule were “not accurate”.
Pedro Pascal’s Short Filming Schedule Teased Key Scene In The Last of Us 2
While industry insider Daniel Richtman has a decent track record of getting scoops that are true to actual events, his recent report of Pedro Pascal wrapping filming for The Last of Us 2 was debunked by HBO. Pascal, who plays Joel in the series, is the lead actor in the HBO show, which takes place after a fungus-induced pandemic.
Pedro Pascal’s rumored short filming schedule led fans to believe that a key plot point of the game The Last of Us Part II. In the game, a new character named Abby is introduced and she joins Joel and Ellie’s journey. Abby’s father, a Firefly surgeon is killed by Joel as he proceeds to operate on Ellie. Hence, Abby reportedly has a grudge against Joel, which results in her bashing him to death by the middle of the game.
Abby has been confirmed to appear in The Last of Us season 2, with actress Kaitlyn Dever set to play the role. According to The Hollywood Reporter, Dever was a fan favorite for playing the role of Ellie in the show but was deemed to be older. With Abby set to star in the show and Pedro Pascal’s rumored short filming schedule, fans speculated that the show would again be faithful to the game and kill him off early.
With the rumor now debunked, fans can breathe easy, though it is still possible that the death might happen. Unlike the first season, the second part of the game is reportedly being split into more than one season (via IGN), thus making it possible for Pedro Pascal to feature in the show for longer.
