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Pedro Pascal is Channeling Spaghetti Western Vibes as Lead Bounty Hunter on The Mandalorian in the Star Wars Universe

Chilean actor Pedro Pascal will play the title role in the upcoming Star Wars live action series The Mandalorian, Disney. AFP

You might recall him as “The Viper” from Game of Thrones, whose pretty face was gruesomely made a lot less pretty in a duel. Then, sporting a very Burt Reynolds-esque mustache, he served as a DEA agent on Netflix’s Narcos. Now, Chilean-American actor Pedro Pascal is suited up as a bounty hunter in The Mandalorian, which will air later this year on Disney+’s forthcoming streaming platform. Set in the Star Wars Universe and directed by Jon Favreau, the series will be bringing fandom and fanfare to help inaugurate Disney’s new offering.

The official trailer of The Mandalorian, released last month, doesn’t reveal much about Pascal’s character; we neither see his face nor hear his voice at any point. But Pascal has promised that as the Mandalorian he’ll be bringing some classic Han Solo and spaghetti western vibes to bounty hunting. “The character is very much built on the iconic presence of the Man With No Name in the Sergio Leone movies, played by Clint Eastwood, [and] the lone samurai in Akira Kurosawa,” he said at the D23 Expo. “It’s aesthetically and very, very much narratively built in that kind of iconic lone gunslinger/sword-wielder.” 

Pedro Pascal Confirmed BELatina
Chilean actor Pedro Pascal will play the title role in the upcoming Star Wars live action series The Mandalorian, Disney. AFP

Beyond expanding his credits, let’s take a second to acknowledge Chilean-born Pascal’s background as a political refugee. His family fled his home country to escape the Pinochet regime when he was young, relocating to Denmark before finally establishing roots in the US. “My mother’s cousin was very primary in the opposition against the military regime, but there was a huge degree of separation between him and my parents,” he told Time Magazine in a 2017 interview. “Still, helping some people hide got them into hot water — eventually they got to the Venezuelan embassy and claimed asylum.” 

Anyway, back to Star Wars. Mexican actor Diego Luna will also be a fixture on Disney+ in the Star Wars Universe, reprising his role as Andor for an episodic prequel to Rogue One: A Star Wars Story. “Going back to the Star Wars universe is very special for me,” he said in a statement, upon the announcement of the series. “I have so many memories of the great work we did together and the relationships I made throughout the journey.” That makes for two leading Latinos in the Star Wars Universe on Disney+ that we’re looking forward to watching.

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