Pedro Pascal’s role in the Star Wars universe is about to take a huge leap, as the 2026 movieThe Mandalorian and Grogu represents the return of his mostly masked marauder. That said, viewers may be surprised by the fact that one notable scene that took full emotional advantage of a helmet removal came from close collaboration between Pascal and The Mandalorian’s executive producer Jon Favreau.
Vanity Fair’s recent interview with the star of the upcoming Marvel movie The Fantastic Four: First Steps touched on a rather emotional touchstone from Season 2 of that Disney+ subscription driver. Taken from Din Djarin’s goodbye to little Grogu at the end of “Chapter 16: The Rescue,” that helmet reveal was apparently not planned for this installment.
Rather, it came out of a change up that took place between Pedro Pascal and the Star Wars co-mastermind, as described below:
Jon Favreau is so collaborative that I remember having a conversation, and there was like an episode – it was before this one. And maybe he’d already had this planned already. But I remember talking to Jon and saying, ‘If there was a moment where I took off the helmet, I think we should really hold off, and it should be because the child needs to see my face, breaking the creed completely because I want to introduce my soul to Grogu.'
I’ll put my Sabacc cards on the table here and admit that from this point on, I fell off of The Mandalorian. Bringing Luke Skywalker back wasn’t the best move, an opinion even some Star Wars fans share, and sending Grogu off to train with him was even worse. What I’ll also admit is that latter half was probably coming from an emotional place, as the journey in this Star Wars spinoff series had led its protagonists to what felt like a huge turning point.
Thinking about this scene without the helmet removal doesn’t make sense to me, and Pedro Pascal’s instincts were clearly feeling The Force of the show’s heartbeat. In further recalling how his collaboration with the executive producer/former MCU director folded that Mandalorian note further into how “The Rescue” worked, The Last of Us veteran also proved just how strong Jon Favreau’s read on the series, and his star, actually were:
My idea was in a different spot, and then Jon ended up making it a much, much better part of the series. But I really felt like, heard, and it was really special for it to become the moment that it became. Because it was somewhat of a collaborative thing.
Sometimes you evidently just need to listen to the moment, especially on the set of a major production like The Mandalorian. With that in mind, the message you need to hear can come from anyone on set, or even the surroundings themselves. Pedro Pascal has been on both sides of that concept, as seen in Walton Goggins’ grounded phone calls whenever his career felt like too much at times.
Those instincts will be on display yet again in the upcoming Star Wars movie, The Mandalorian & Grogu, which is set to finally open in theaters on May 22, 2026. You won’t have to wait that long for your next Pascal-enhanced adventure, as The Fantastic Four: First Steps blasts off into theaters on July 25th.
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