Star Wars shocker: Pedro Pascal no longer playing The Mandalorian

The Mandalorian (Pedro Pascal) and the Child in THE MANDALORIAN, season two, exclusively on Disney+
The Mandalorian (Pedro Pascal) and the Child in THE MANDALORIAN, season two, exclusively on Disney+

It’s hard to imagine anyone other than Pedro Pascal playing The Mandalorian, but it seems Pascal was not behind the character in its most recent season.

Pedro Pascal has undeniably become the face of The Mandalorian, which feels like an ironic statement to make considering that Pascal rarely reveals his own face on-screen due to the character’s iconic helmet.

Though hidden beneath the iconic Mandalorian helmet, Pascal’s voice and physicality have helped to create an indelible presence that captivates audiences whenever he’s on screen as Mando. His ability to convey emotion and vulnerability without relying upon his facial expressions to help sell his performance is incredible with the key selling points coming via his voice work and physical performance.

Pascal’s magnetic performance has not only made the character iconic but has also resonated with fans making Mando one of the most beloved characters in the entire Star Wars franchise.

With Pedro Pascal as the face of The Mandalorian, the series has found its heart and soul, solidifying his place in Star Wars lore and ensuring his legacy as an irreplaceable force within the galaxy far, far away. Perhaps that is why it’s so shocking to learn that Pascal is no longer playing the Mando we’re seen on our screens.

Is Pedro Pascal still playing The Mandalorian?

During a roundtable-style discussion for the Drama Actor Roundtable series conducted by The Hollywood ReporterPedro Pascal revealed he’s no longer playing The Mandalorian in the hit Disney Plus series and is now limited to voicing the character.

That’s right, while Pascal is still voicing Mando, Brendan Wayne and Lateef Crowder have been tag-teaming on helping to bring the character to life with Wayne playing Mando on set and Crowder performing the character’s stunt work. In fact, it’s because he was no longer needed on set for filming which allowed him to take on other projects such as HBO’s The Last of Us. 

"“There was an extended amount of experimentation, being in the suit for a lot of it, and frankly, my body wasn’t up for the task as far as, like, the four months of it. But I was in it. I was in it a significant amount, an elastic amount. But now we’ve figured it out, which is super cool, and amazingly, it gave me the opportunity to be able to go and do something else,” Pascal revealed."

It’s unclear when exactly Pascal stopped playing the character on set, but it seems most if not all of season 3 involved Pascal simply voicing the character with Wayne standing in on set to help play the character.