Ahead of the new year, 2025 is looking to be Pedro Pascal's best year in Hollywood. In 2023, the actor debuted his leading role as Joel Miller in HBO's video game adaptation The Last Of Us. where he plays a grieving father in the process of saving Ellie — possibly the cure to the cordyceps fungal infection that has ravaged the world with infected zombie-like creatures. The role earned Pascal a number of major award nods, and the actor won a Screen Actor's Guild Award for Outstanding Performance By A Male Actor in a Drama series.
Following his return to the big screen starring in Ridley Scott's much anticipated Gladiator sequel, the actor will make his way back to the post-apocalyptic world of the video game adaptation series. As exciting as this is, Pascal reprising Joel in HBO's The Last of Us season 2 will only be the beginning of a busy next 12 months. Beyond Joel, he is also slated to star in some of the biggest franchises in the world. Looking at his schedule, it's safe to say that 2025 will be Pascal's biggest year in Hollywood, thus far.
Pedro Pascal Will Star In The Last Of Us Season 2 And The Fantastic Four In 2025
Pascal Will Continue To Become A Household Name
The Last Of Us found success among video game players of its source material and new fans alike. The show's season 1 finale reached a record-breaking 8.2 million viewers on the day of its release (via Deadline). Pascal's role in The Mandalorian similarly sees him accidentally becoming a father figure to Grogu, a creature in the same species as Yoda in the Star Wars universe. These endearing and deeply emotional performances continue to bring heart to otherwise gruesome sci-fi stories about the nature of power in a society on the brink of collapse.
Outside his television projects, Pascal has also been cast in Marvel Studios' star-studded The Fantastic Four: First Steps. In the high-profile film, Pascal is set to star as Mr. Fantastic, opposite Ebon Moss-Bacharach, Joseph Quinn, Vanessa Kirby, John Malkovich, Julia Garner, Natasha Lyonne, and more. The project, based on the beloved comics of the same name, will follow a group of superheroes, each with unique powers, as they embark on a retro-futuristic mission. Marvel's devoted fan base has been mostly excited about Pascal's casting, making this the perfect next career step for him.
Pedro Pascal Is Also Filming Avengers: Doomsday In 2025
The Actor Continues To Grow Within The Marvel Family
Pascal is also already embarking on his next Marvel project, Avengers: Doomsday, in the coming year. He will reprise his role as Mr. Fantastic for the action-packed film, which starts filming in 2025 and will be released in 2026. In the MCU crossover event, Pascal will be able to work with the original and new Avengers actors such as Chris Hemsworth, Mark Ruffalo, Anthony Mackie, Benedict Cumberbatch, and Tom Holland against the returning Robert Downey Jr. as Dr. Doom.
Pascal's choice to continue to build a working relationship with the Marvel machine is a highly intelligent one, as it could ensure a consistent role in the franchise and greater visibility to casting directors for future projects. Several MCU actors continue to find success with high-profile directors. Most recently, Downey , who has long played Iron Man in the MCU, won Best Supporting Actor at the Academy Awards for his role in Christopher Nolan's Oppenheimer. With a trajectory like this in mind, Pascal certainly has the star power to chart a similar path.
Pedro Pascal’s Hollywood Takeover Will Only Be Getting Started In 2025
The World Is Ready For The Actor's Star Power To Reach New Heights
Pedro Pascal's role in The Fantastic Four will cement his role in another 2027 MCU film, Avengers: Secret Wars. Beyond the superhero franchise, his success as the titular character in The Mandalorian resulted in his own Star Wars film slated for a 2026 release. The Mandalorian & Grogu is co-written by Jon Favreau and Dave Filoni, once again forming a strong collaborative relationship that creates lasting and beloved roles for Pascal to fill.
Regardless of the reception for Gladiator II , however, Pedro Pascal is set to only be a more prominent presence in Hollywood in 2025.
Prior to his upcoming MCU and Star Wars projects, Pascal will soon star in Gladiator II opposite Paul Mescal of Aftersun and Normal People, and his soon-to-be The Fantastic Four: First Steps costar, Joseph Quinn. Closing out the year with such a major blockbuster ensures that casting directors will have their eyes on this highly anticipated performance ahead of the new year for other potential projects. Regardless of the reception for Gladiator II, however, Pedro Pascal is set to only be a more prominent presence in Hollywood in 2025.