Earlier this month it was confirmed by Dave Filoni and Jon Favreau that the next theatrical Star Wars release, The Mandalorian and Grogu, has officially started principal photography and even shared a very brief teaser for the film which is due to hit theatres on May 22nd, 2026 – you can read a description of the teaser here.
One thing that’s been speculated and debated is the involvement of the leading man – no, not Grogu, but the internets favourite daddy, Pedro Pascal. Of course Pascal is going to be involved, but the debate has been in what capacity. Due to Pascal’s jam-packed schedule, many have wondered if Pascal would only be able to provide voice-over work for the character of Din Djarin and wouldn’t be required to film scenes in the suit, which isn’t a new concept, the vast majority of the time Pascal isn’t in the suit, that honour is bestowed to Brendan Wayne and Lateef Crowder. Pascal typically is only in the suit what there’s scenes needed to be filmed that’ll include the character being unmasked. It’s speculated that Pascal didn’t don the Din Djarin costume for season three due to his commitments to The Last of Us season one.
Time and cast sensitive scenes were reported to have been filmed ahead of principal photography and I speculated (that’s the key word here) that perhaps those scenes were for Pascal, who had brief windows of time to film scenes between his various projects from this year including The Last of Us season two, The Materialists, and Fantastic Four: First Steps. That might not have been the case, and those scenes shot could have possibly been for what was shot and shown in the aforementioned teaser that debuted at the D23 Expo.
At the time of writing, Pascal is around a month into filming on Fantastic Four: First Steps and filming is expected to run until December of this year, ahead of the films release in July 2025. Though in a brief line shared in an article on The Hollywood Reporter, it appears that Pedro Pascal will be making time later in the year to film scenes for The Mandalorian and Grogu.
In an article detailing the fallout Joker actor Joaquin Phoenix dropping out of a Todd Haynes film just days before it started filming, it’s mentioned that Pascals name has been tossed around in regards to filling the Phoenix role. THR’s sources tell them that Pascal is unable to take the role due to “Fantastic Four and The Mandalorian shoots” packing the rest of his year out.
It felt inevitable that Pascal would be on screen as Din Djarin, and I personally fully expect to see his handsome face on the big screen. It’s the first Star Wars film in theatres in seven years by the time The Mandalorian and Grogu releases, it’ll likely be one of the biggest releases of the year, and Pascal is only growing as a star. After conquering TV in The Mandalorian and The Last of Us, and thus becoming the internet’s favourite daddy (or zaddy), Pascal is now on an epic film run that begins this year. Pascal can be seen in Gladiator 2 this Fall, in Eddington and The Materialists next year from acclaimed film makers Ari Astra and Celine Song, along with debuting in the Marvel Cinematic Universe in the Summer with Fantastic Four: First Steps. In 2026 Pascal’s Reed Richards has been confirmed to appear in the highly anticipated Avengers: Doomsday, the first Avengers film in seven years, and in the same month, The Mandalorian and Grogu is due to release.
The Mandalorian and Grogu is due to release in theatres on May 22nd, 2026 and is being directed by The Mandalorian creator, Jon Favreau.
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