The phrase “franchise royalty” could apply to a few different celebrities, but, personally, I believe that the one actor kicking the most ass in that territory at the moment is Pedro Pascal. The lead of HBO’s The Last of Us cast has stolen the show as Whiskey in Kingsman: The Golden Circle, was one of the best parts of one of the least-liked DC movies (Wonder Woman 1984), and is returning to play the title role of one of the few universally beloved modern installments of the Star Wars franchise, The Mandalorian, for its third season. It looks like the Marvel movies are the only thing left unchecked on his bucket list.
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It is hard to believe that the Chilean-American actor — who also bonded with Bella Ramsey over both having roles in the Game of Thrones cast — has not been a part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe yet, considering his prior history with comic book adaptations, as listed above. It is clear that he is interested in joining, based on his comments to Wired in 2023, which brings up the question of whom he could play. We had a few Marvel characters from the comics in mind, starting with one who's virtually similar to, arguably, his most famous role yet.
Darkhawk
Pascal really impressed the world by proving that his acting range includes not only sharing the screen with an animatronic, infantile extra-terrestrial, but an ability to express emotion while keeping his face hidden under a helmet for much of his time as the star of The Mandalorian. This exquisite talent makes the actor a perfect candidate to play a different helmeted, cosmic hero from the Marvel Comics Universe known as Darkhawk.
The alter ego of Christopher Powell — who became a hero when he found an amulet that allows his his consciousness to be transferred into the body of an alien android — fights evil with an extraordinary arsenal of abilities, including retractable wings that allow him to fly. Of course, in addition to being slightly similar to Din Djarin, what really makes Pascal a great choice to play Darkhawk is the fact that he is a common, trusted ally of Moon Knight, who is played by the actor’s real-life buddy, Oscar Isaac. To see them reunite in the MCU, and for the first time since Netflix’s Triple Frontier, would be worth the casting alone.
Corsair
On second thought, I would totally understand if Pedro Pascal had grown weary of wearing a helmet so often and would rather be able to show his face when he makes his debut in the MCU. For that, I have a perfect option that actually, in some ways, has a little more in common with his Mandalorian role. To be perfectly honest, ScreenRant already beat me to the punch when it came to explaining why this character works so well for him.
There is a group of outer space pirates (similar to the Guardians of the Galaxy before taking on their more heroic duties) called the Starjammers, who even dress in more old fashioned swashbuckler garb and are led by a man named Corsair. Born Christopher Summers, the character is also known as the biological father of Scott Summers, who is better known to X-Men fans as Cyclops. Considering Pascal’s knack for playing father figures, it would be fun to see him introduce his fictional son to the MCU whenever the X-Men movies get rebooted.
White Tiger
As mentioned above, Pedro Pascal is Chilean-American, but has only played a small handful of roles that even remotely bear any reflection of his ancestry — such as when he played Javier Peña on the Netflix original crime drama, Narcos. I think it would be cool to see him make his MCU debut as a character of a similar ancestral background, so why not one of the most notable Latino heroes from Marvel Comics?
Coincidentally similar to Darkhawk’s origin story, Puerto Rican-born Hector Ayala became the White Tiger after the union of the three Jade Tiger amulets granted him special, mystical abilities — including heightened, animal-like sense. Hector is actually just the first to hold the mantle, which is currently held by his own younger sister, Ava. It sounds like a White Tiger movie would be a great opportunity for another family drama in the MCU, which we already know is Pascal’s specialty.
Zombie
The latest addition to Pascal’s set of special skills is surviving against “the infected,” as seen by his performance as hardened survivor Joel in HBO’s series adaptation of the acclaimed video game, The Last of Us. While the mutated creatures he faces off against in the show do not, technically, count as zombies, I naturally could not help but imagine how he would do as such a creature, but one with a moral compass, such as Simon Garth.
The morally corrupt businessman became an unlikely hero from beyond the grave after he was murdered by his gardener and the use of voodoo brought him back as an undead being. In all honesty, I just really want to see this character brought into the MCU — which seems more plausible now than ever following Disney+’s marvelous Halloween special, Werewolf By Night, and upcoming Marvel Zombies TV show — but I do truly believe an actor like Pascal could bring some real humanity and charisma to the role onscreen.
Doctor Doom
As previously established, if Pascal were to appear in any new Marvel movies, it would not be his first comic adaptation. For instance, he already has a DC movie under his belt from playing Maxwell Lord in 2020’s Wonder Woman 1984 and most would agree that his performance as the corrupt, power-hungry businessman is a major highlight of the Gal Gadot-led sequel. In fact, I think I really like the idea of him playing a villain again and have an essential one in mind.
Similarly to Max Lord, Victor von Doom is also a wealthy man whose immense thirst for power and authority has driven him to do horrible things, most often at the expense of the Fantastic Four. The role of the notorious villain, otherwise known as Doctor Doom, has yet to be cast in the superhero family’s upcoming MCU reboot and I think Pascal would consider it an honor to be one of the universe’s top baddies.
No matter who he plays, it would be really fun to see Pedro Pascal in more upcoming superhero movies some day soon. Let’s see if his hopes for a part in the MCU come true.
