Some new details surrounding Gladiator 2‘s character beats and action scenes hint that it might continue a frustrating 25-year Pedro Pascal trend. As the release date for Gladiator 2 is inching closer, new elements surrounding the film’s cast, characters, and story are beginning to emerge. While some of these new developments promise that the Ridley Scott sequel will be as enthralling as the first film (if not more), others spark some minor concerns surrounding the cast and characters of the film.
One of these concerns revolves around Pedro Pascal’s role. Although most details about his Gladiator 2 character are still shrouded, reports suggest he will portray a former military commander. A few other details about his character and his potential fate have also been hinted at in Gladiator 2‘s trailer, which suggests that the movie is about to continue the Pedro Pascal calling card that nearly everyone is starting to grow sick of.
As Gladiator 2‘s CinemaCon trailer suggests, Pedro Pascal’s character will likely duke it out with Paul Mescal’s Lucius in a duel-to-death. Since the two are among the leading characters in the Ridley Scott film, their showdown will likely be a pivotal moment in Gladiator’s overarching narrative and probably cause one of them to die. Since Paul Mescal’s Lucius is the protagonist, he will likely overpower Pedro Pascal’s character in the fight and even kill him if that is what it takes to prove what he stands for. If Pedro Pascal’s character dies in Gladiator 2, it will continue a tiring trend for the actor.
Since the inception of his acting career, Pedro Pascal has played a myriad roles in diverse television shows and movies. However, even though the actor plays distinct characters in every movie and show, many of his characters seem to follow a strange, heart-breaking trend: they all eventually die. His Game of Thrones character, Prince Oberyn Martell, meets a tragic doom when Clegane brutally murders him in a battle. His Kingsman 2 character, Agent Whiskey, meets a similar fate when Eggsy and Harry join forces to kill him in an action-packed fight.
Even in several other films and shows like Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Law & Order SVU, Drive-Away Dolls, Equalizer 2, Graceland, Nikita, and Bloodsucking Bastards, Pedro Pascal’s character is somehow always the bearer of misfortune, meeting an untimely and sorrowful doom. Although his character, Joel, in The Last of Us is still alive, he, too, will likely die, given how the show is closely following the original video game’s storyline. With Gladiator 2 hinting at a similar end for Pedro Pascal’s character, it is hard not to be a little sick of this undying death trend.