Why Pedro Pascal's The Last of Us Schedule Became a Major Story (2024)
Ninety-nine percent of the time, this sentencewould seem free of any hidden meaning: “Pedro Pascal has finished filmingThe Last of Us season two.” Every day actors start filming projects and then they finish filming projects. When it happens it’s rarely, if ever, significant. In this case, though, people began to freak out about it—and even though that statement was later reported to be inaccurate, that it caused a ruckus at all is a fairly fascinating tale.
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The rumor of Pascal completing his filming started earlier this week. On one level, it raised eyebrows because The Last of Us season two has reportedly only been filming a few weeks and is expected to continue through the summer. He’s one of the main characters on the hit HBO series, so his potentially being done seemed odd for that reason alone.
Except, it didn’t, if you had some additional context. The Last of Us season two is adapting the game The Last of Us Part II, and for anyone who has played the game, the rumor of Pascal’s schedule felt like the indirect answer to a question fans have had for a while. Before we get to that though, it’s important to note that after the rumor began to circle, HBO told IGN that the rumors of him being done with filming were “not accurate.” Does that mean he is still filming? Does that mean he finished a block of filming and is going back? And, finally, why is this meaningless piece of news being reported on with such interest?
The last question we can answer, but it requires discussing events in The Last of Us Part II game and, potentially, season two of the HBO series.
This has been covered over and over again but, to reiterate, Pedro Pascal’s character, Joel, is not a big part of The Last of Us Part II. In the game’s first act, he’s murdered by a woman named Abby as revenge for him killing her father, a doctor at the hospital Joel where went on a killing spreeto save Ellie. Ellie doesn’t know that part though and goes on a revenge mission to find and kill Abby.
So! A sentence as simple as “Pedro Pascal has finished filming The Last of Us season two” implies, to a fan of the game, that season two of the show will be following that story and structure explicitly. That Joel is only in a few scenes or episodes and then WHAM. Dead.
Which, in terms of a major TV series, always felt like something that wouldn’t happen. Even before The Last of Us aired, showrunners Craig Mazin and Neil Druckmann played coy about how they were going to handle this in-game decision. Basically, they didn’t want game players to spoil that Joel might die or to easily give up such a game-changing plot point willingly. Plus, there’s no guarantee they have to follow the game. Their show is headlined by one of the biggest stars in the world. To write him off for any reason is a major decision on every level.
News that the game’s story would be split over at least two seasonsthen changed the conversation. It then seems possible Joel would die, but maybe not until the end of season two. (To explain that even further, even though Joel dies at the beginning of the game, it’s the middle of the overall story, with the first half following Ellie’s revenge after his death and the second explaining Abby’s plight before his death.)
If Pascal was actually done filming, it would suggest he’s not in the show as much and that Mazin and Druckmann were taking the simplest path by just following the game to the letter. But, now, we know those rumors are “not accurate.” Which, if you want to get all conspiracy theory about it, is a very specific choice of words. It doesn’t say he has months left of filming. It doesn’t even say that he’s still filming. For all we know he could go back at a later date for a single day and they would be telling the truth. HBO is only saying it’s not accurate that Pedro Pascal has completed filming on season two. The question of if Joel dies in season two of The Last of Us, or when, remains a mystery.
And now, almost 700 words later, we’re still just talking about and explaining the most basic fact imaginable: a person finished work. It should be meaningless. But when it’s how long Pedro Pascal was on the set of The Last of Us season two, it’s a window into the entire scope of the season and series. Something we’ll be talking about and debating into next year when The Last of Us finally returns with its second season.
Season 2 of HBO's The Last of Us is currently filming in the Canadian province of British Columbia and Pedro Pascal, who plays post-apocalypse dad Joel Miller, has reportedly finished all of his parts just one month after filming began.
Pedro Pascal (born April 2, 1975, Santiago, Chile) is a Chilean-born American actor who became famous with a series of hugely popular TV shows, including Narcos (2015–17), The Mandalorian (2019– ), and The Last of Us (2023– ). He is especially known for portraying antiheroic father figures.
Soon after his birth, his family was granted political asylum in Denmark while Chile was under the military dictatorship of Augusto Pinochet. He was raised in San Antonio, Texas, Orange County, California, and has lived in New York City since 1993.
In order to make Joel believable with the twenty-year gap between his flashback and current self, they aged the character up to 56. Pedro Pascal's 47 puts him right in between the 36-year-old and 56-year-old versions of Joel, allowing him to play both.
After he was born, his parents took him as a baby to Denmark because his socialist family was forced to go into exile by the Pinochet dictatorship. Then, they ended up settling in Texas. Later, he had to overcome, among other things, bullying at school or the suicide of his mother Veronica, in 2000.
As Pascal tastes the peanut butter and jelly sandwich, he pauses briefly and then jumps back into the conversation as if nothing happened. It's a blink-and-you'll-miss-it moment that has gone viral, sparking countless viral TikTok memes that represent the feeling of being unbothered and unenthused.
Personal life. Pascal is fluent in both English and Spanish and has been a resident of New York City since 1993. He developed a close friendship with actress Sarah Paulson soon after moving there. Pascal is an advocate of LGBTQ+ rights and was supportive of his sister Lux Pascal when she came out as transgender.
Sarah Paulson and Pedro Pascal have been besties for 30 years. She used to give him money for food. Pedro Pascal and Sarah Paulson have known each other since they were both 18 years old.
Pedro Pascal may be the best on-screen father we have going, but he doesn't actually have any kids, and is not publicly in a relationship nor has he been married. He's also starting to seem as if he's sick of everyone calling him the word “daddy”, which I have previously gotten pretty worked up about over here.
Pedro Pascal did grow up in a working class family! His parents fled Chile during a time of political turmoil and ultimately settled in the United States, where they raised Pedro in San Antonio, Texas.
Pedro Pascal was on hand at the 2023 Academy Awards not only as a presenter but also a supportive brother. "The Last of Us" star arrived to the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood on Oscar Sunday, March 23, with his sister, Javiera Balmaceda.
Luckily for us, creators Craig Mazin and Neil Druckmann have been working on a Season 2. HBO officially renewed The Last of Us for a second season in January 2023, and audiences are eager to see what awaits Joel and Ellie in Season 2. TV Guide will share everything we learn about the next chapter of the story here.
Having previously teased the show could carry over into a third season, Mazin told The Hollywood Reporter in August 2023 that he could see the series running for four seasons total. “Some seasons, because of the story we're telling, will need fewer episodes and some will need more.
Naughty Dog has confirmed the threequel is happening, so where does it need to go? The Last of Us Part 3 is official. It's in the earliest possible stages so we haven't seen a trailer, nor do we have any information about it, but creative director Neil Druckmann has confirmed that the threequel is coming.
The second season, based on the 2020 game The Last of Us Part II, follows Joel (Pedro Pascal) and Ellie (Bella Ramsey) in the aftermath of the first season, and introduces Abby (Kaitlyn Dever).
Introduction: My name is Frankie Dare, I am a funny, beautiful, proud, fair, pleasant, cheerful, enthusiastic person who loves writing and wants to share my knowledge and understanding with you.
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