‘Narcos’ Once Prevented Pedro Pascal From Joining the Marvel Universe

The Big Picture

• Pedro Pascal turned down a role in
  Daredevil
  for a lead role in
  Narcos
  , a decision that paid off with the success of the show.
• The success of
  Narcos
  propelled Pascal’s career, leading to opportunities in popular series like
  The Madalorian
  and
  The Last of Us.
• Pascal’s popularity is set to rise even further with upcoming projects including a Coen Brothers film, Ridley Scott’s
  Gladiator 2
  , and an acclaimed Sundance film.

It’s Pedro Pascal‘s world, and everyone is just living in it. With roles in some of the most popular film and television programs of the generation, Pascal has made playing fan-favorite characters look easy. While appearing in the Star Wars, Game of Thrones, and The Last of Us universes would have been enough to solidify him as one of the entertainment industry’s living legends, Pascal’s career is set to reach new heights now that he is confirmed to play Reed Richards in Marvel Studios’ highly anticipated reboot of The Fantastic Four. While it will certainly be exciting to see Pascal step into the shoes of one of Stan Lee‘s greatest characters, it wasn’t the first time he had the opportunity to appear in a Marvel project. Shortly after earning his breakout role on Game of Thrones, Pascal had to turn down a potential role in the Netflix series Daredevil.

Why Pedro Pascal Turned Down ‘Daredevil’

Although he is now known as one of the most successful actors on the planet, Pascal spent many years playing bit parts before earning his first major roles. Between a brief cameo in Buffy the Vampire Slayer and a supporting role in the science fiction thriller The Adjustment Bureau, Pascal was certainly involved in acclaimed projects that he wasn’t necessarily the star of. However, Pascal’s career changed forever when he was cast as Oberyn Martell in the fourth season of Game of Thrones. A young Dornish prince who harbors a desire for revenge on Ser Gregor Clegane (Hafþór Júlíus Björnsson) for the rape and murder of his sister, Oberyn becomes a surprising ally to Tyrion Lannister (Peter Dinklage) after he is falsely accused of murdering his nephew, Prince Joffrey (Jack Gleeson).

Despite only appearing on the show for one season, Oberyn became a fan-favorite character, putting a huge spotlight on Pascal. Pascal’s inherent charisma and obvious knack for filming physically laborious combat scenes were evident, and the goodwill he generated made Oberyn’s shocking demise even more devastating. While this meant that Pascal wasn’t able to appear in additional seasons of Game of Thrones, the role succeeded in making him highly desirable for casting directors mapping out the future of their franchises. While his Game of Thrones fate had not yet been revealed, Pascal was approached by Marvel Studios to make an appearance in Daredevil.

The opportunity to appear in a Marvel Studios project would have been an exciting notion for any actor, particularly given that Daredevil was the franchise’s first series produced for Netflix. Pascal auditioned for Daredevil under the impression that he had not been cast in another Netflix production, Narcos, a historical series that chronicled the rise of the ruthless Columbian drug lord Pablo Escobar (Wagner Moura). When the previous actor cast as Javier Peña unexpectedly passed on the role, Pascal was forced to choose between pursuing a role in Narcos or Daredevil. When reflecting on his dilemma, Pascal admitted his confusion as to why two Netflix shows were competing against each other.

‘Narcos’ Made Pascal a Global Star

While Narcos was a much more risky project in comparison to a series like Daredevil, which already had a built-in audience of comic book fans, Pascal chose Narcos over Daredevil based on the substantiality of the role. While he couldn’t recall the exact name of his potential Daredevil character, remembering it only as “Character Number Six,” Peña was one of the main characters on Narcos. The opportunity to show his merits as a leading man was a more desirable outcome compared to only playing a brief role in a project that presumably would get much more attention.

Pascal ended up making the right decision, as Narcos proved to be one of the most successful programs in the history of Netflix. Released only a few years after House of Cards had become the streamer’s first drama program, Narcos used the “binge model” to its advantage by creating a propulsive storyline that was well suited for viewers to watch in one viewing. While Moura’s performance as Escobar was one of the show’s standout elements, the storyline involving the DEA agents trying to track down the Colombian drug lords and hold them accountable was just as compelling. The excellent chemistry between Pascal and Boyd Holbrook, who starred as the DEA Agent Steve Murphy, ensured that the cops were just as interesting as the criminals.

Pascal became the single lead of Narcos in its third season, as the parameters of history ensured that both Holbrook and Moura had to exit the show after their character arcs were wrapped up by the end of season 2. While a season of Narcos that didn’t focus on Escobar seemed counterintuitive, the third season succeeded by showing how Peña uses espionage techniques to prevent the Cali cartel from assuming the position Escobar had once occupied. By transforming into a political thriller series, the third season of Narcos became the show’s best, solidifying the longevity of Pascal’s star power.

Pascal Is the King of Franchises

The decision to turn down Daredevil paid off in the long run, as the success of Narcos allowed Pascal to pursue greater opportunities once the show had wrapped. Pascal’s newfound fame earned him the opportunity to appear in critically acclaimed films like Barry Jenkins‘ adaptation of the James Baldwin novel If Beale Street Could Talk and the underrated Netflix thriller Triple Frontier, making it evident that he was best suited to play the lead in a dramatic series. Pascal’s acclaimed role as Din Djarin in The Mandalorian helped revitalize the Star Wars franchise through the success of the Disney+ shows.

Pascal is perhaps the most in-demand actor in the industry, as HBO’s adaptation of The Last of Us became a massive hit and earned him a Primetime Emmy Award nomination for Best Actor in a Drama Series. With roles in Ethan Coen‘s road trip comedy Drive-Away Dolls, Ridley Scott‘s highly anticipated sequel Gladiator 2, and the acclaimed Sundance film Freaky Tales, Pascal’s popularity is set to reach even greater heights in 2024.

Narcos is streaming on Netflix.

Watch on Netflix