Hollywood apparently loves to see Pedro Pascal play a father. Maybe it has something to do with his meme-powered “zaddy” renaissance. But there was a reality in which Pascal could’ve played a third dad figure in 2025 alone after The Last of Us season 2, Eddington, and The Fantastic Four: First Steps.
Before Weapons writer/director Zach Cregger cast Josh Brolin to play Archer, the father of a missing kid, Pascal was set to play the part. That’s just one way Cregger says his buzzed-about horror movie (in theaters Aug. 8) could’ve looked very different.
“I had a whole different cast for this movie,” the filmmaker tells Entertainment Weekly. “And then we had the strike, and then Pedro Pascal’s schedule threw us into turmoil. I had to recast the entire movie.”
Courtesy Warner Bros. Pictures.
Cary Christopher as Alex in ‘Weapons’
Cregger’s Barbarian follow-up is the story of how 17 children from the same class at the fictional Maybrook Elementary School in Pennsylvania mysteriously woke up at 2:17 in the morning and quietly left their homes, never to return.
From July 14 to Nov. 9, 2023, members of the Screen Actors Guild — American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAG-AFTRA) went on strike over a labor dispute with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP), which coincided with the Writers Guild of America (WGA) strike that ran from May 2 to Sep. 27 of the same year. The dueling events brought the industry to a standstill and had far-reaching ripple effects for a variety of projects, including Weapons.
Cregger confirms earlier reports about his cast originally including Pascal, Brian Tyree Henry (Causeway), Renate Reinsve (The Worst Person in the World), and Austin Abrams (Wolfs). Schedules no longer aligned post-strike, especially Pascal’s, who had a number of high-profile projects filling his dance card.
“This is what happens, right?” Cregger continues. “The strikes delayed us, and then when you delay, people’s schedules get conflicts, and then you’re back at square one. I bear no ill will towards anybody. We just kept getting delayed and delayed. It’s like a domino effect. So I had to start over again.”
Courtesy Warner Bros. Pictures.
Austin Abrams as James in ‘Weapons’
Out of that initial four, only Abrams carried over to the final cast as James, a homeless man hooked on drugs. “He hung tough with me. That’s my dude right there,” Cregger comments.
“I’d seen Barbarian with a friend. I remember when it cut to Justin Long in the car, I just knew I loved whoever made that movie,” Abrams says. “I was able to get in contact with Zach, and then it turned out he was making something. He thought I was a good fit for it, potentially…. I loved the part and I didn’t wanna let it go. So I just really held on ’cause I really wanted to do it.”
Want more movie news? Sign up for Entertainment Weekly‘s free newsletter to get the latest trailers, celebrity interviews, film reviews, and more.
While Abrams carried over and Brolin filled the Pascal void as Archer, Cregger went on to cast Alden Ehrenreich as Paul, a local police officer. Julia Garner as Ms. Justine Gandy, the elementary school teacher whose students disappeared, was one of the last roles he needed to cast.
“I Zoomed with Julia, and within like three minutes, I knew she was the one because she’s so intelligent,” Cregger recalls. “Just the way she’d already read the script and the way she talked about the character, it was like, ‘This is what I’ve been looking for.’ I’d been looking for someone who could smell the essence of this and knew exactly how to come in. I think Julia’s smarter than I am, so I knew it was gonna be in good hands with her.”
Read the original article on Entertainment Weekly
