VARIETY: Pedro Pascal has been tapped to star in the “Star Wars” TV series “The Mandalorian,” which is expected to premiere on the Disney streaming service, Disney+.

Pascal’s name had previously been rumored for the role, but sources say he was one of many actors being considered. Now, insiders tell Variety that he has been offered the role and negotiations are underway.

Jon Favreau penned the series, which is set after the fall of the Empire and before the emergence of the First Order. It follows the travails of a lone gunfighter in the outer reaches of the galaxy far from the authority of the New Republic.

Disney recently announced that Dave Filoni, who has worked on “Star Wars: The Clone Wars” and “Star Wars Rebels,” will direct the first episode of the series. “Thor: Ragnarok” director Taika Waititi, Bryce Dallas Howard, “Dope’s” Rick Famuyiwa, and Deborah Chow (“Jessica Jones”) will direct additional episodes.

There are some truly excellent antihero stories on modern TV, but Wagner Moura’s portrayal of Pablo Escobar was one of the best. For two seasons, Moura brought humanity and sympathy to one of the darkest and most divisive figures in history while Narcos captured a country in turmoil. Seasons 1 and 2 of the show were excellent examples of television — as long as Narcos didn’t focus too much on its heroes.

Though Moura was undisputably the central figure during Narcos’ first seasons, we were introduced to the world of coke by DEA Agent Steve Murphy (Boyd Holbrook), and looking back, Murphy was only holding Narcos back. This isn’t to insult Holbrook’s performance. The Milk and Logan actor gave a good performance, capturing a man who’s uncertain about bringing his wife to such a dangerous and foreign landscape. However, Agent Murphy always felt out of line with the rest of the show. He wasn’t fluent in Spanish, often seemed confused and in over his head when the rest of the show had moved on, and consistently slowed this fast-paced show down. It would be like if a cop from a police procedural had a recurring role on Breaking Bad just to give exposition. Both the show and the actor can be great, but they don’t mesh together.

I’ve spent a lot of time wondering why Narcos Season 3 is such a great watch even though it’s missing the element that once made Narcos great — Moura. Every time I keep returning to Narcos’ lead. Pedro Pascal’s Agent Javier Peña is an unbelievably better fit than Agent Murphy. Watching Narcos with Agent Murphy as its lead was like watching this fast-paced series with training wheels. Watching it with Agent Peña finally allows the show to be as quick and cutthroat as it wants to be all because this character meshes with the show’s universe.

A lot of the reason why Peña works so well isn’t complimentary to his character. Agent Peña isn’t exactly a dirty cop, but he’s not entirely clean. In Season 2, he proved that he was willing to do whatever it took to bring down Escobar, even if that involved having the U.S. government indirectly side with the murderous Los Pepes. This is a DEA agent who already knows the language and customs and will do absolutely anything to get his man. Agent Murphy was nice at times because he gave the show a pure hero, but in the bloody and betrayal-filled world of Narcos, there’s very little room for being nice. Agent Peña, with his manipulative investigation methods, never-ending drive, and clear self-hatred, is a much better fit for this deeply dark show.

Pascal has consistently excelled at giving his haunted antihero subtle touches of life. Standing out in Narcos, particularly Narcos‘ third season, is a difficult task. However, time and time again Pascal has commanded this series, giving us brief and intimate glimpses into his own insecurities and weaknesses as he gives orders and tracks down suspects. Pascal’s Agent Peña is alluring like so many other antiheroes before him because he’s so mysterious. You may feel as though you know why he acts the way he does, but when you peel back the facts, you’re left with very little information about this compelling and powerful character. Peña is a character that sticks in your mind even after you’ve forgotten about the latest decapitation.

However, there’s a chance Agent Peña may not stay in our streaming lives forever. Season 3 concluded with Peña telling his father he’s not going to go to Mexico, which is where Season 4 will be taking place. Based on interviews from the series’ showrunner, it seems as though we can trust Peña’s word. The show has even produced a new DEA replacement — Season 3’s Agent Chris Feistl (Michael Stahl-David) and Agent Daniel Van Ness (Matt Whelan) — and they’re pretty great. Feistl and Van Ness’ constant bickering adds some much-needed levity to this gloomy series. Still, there’s always a chance that the haunted and workaholic Agent Peña returns to Narcos, and I hope he does. Initially, I didn’t think Narcos would be Narcos without Wagner Moura, but now I believe Pedro Pascal was the secret glue holding this nefarious series together.

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Pedro Pascal talks getting ready to take on the Cali cartel, life after Pablo and how the struggle for power drives the third season of Netflix’s “Narcos”.

After years of dragons, violence, and occasional incest, HBO’s Game of Thrones will soon come to a close. Season 7 has just one more episode left, with the eighth and final season being even shorter and concluding the story forever. This season has been especially deadly, as we’ve seen a variety of character meet their makers during the Great Game. Chief among them are the Sand Snakes of Dorne, who were killed when Euron Greyjoy attacked Dany’s fleet. Actor Pedro Pascal recently gave his two cents on his daughters’ death, and he didn’t bother to censor himself, either.

Cinema Blend spoke to Pedro recently about the upcoming third season of Netflix’s Narcos, where I managed to sneak in a question about the Sand Snakes. When asked how he reacted to their grisly deaths, he told me he actually texted Game of Thrones’ creators after Euron’s attack.

I texted David Benioff and D.B. Weiss when two of my daughter was killed. And I was like ‘Hey, fuckers. What the hell are you doing killing my line? My lineage?’ And of course they were like ‘Not all of them! Watch next week!’

Netflix released a new featurette about season 3 of Narcos. Watch it below:

The first images of Pedro as Javier Peña on season 3 of Netflix’s Narcos is now avaliable on our gallery. Take a look!

   

 FILMOGRAPHY: TELEVISION PROJECTS > NARCOS > SEASON 3 > PRODUCTION STILLS