The Mandalorian is back, but it's not Pedro Pascal behind the helmet. The Fantastic Four: First Steps star portrayed the Mandalorian hero, Din Djarin, in all three seasons of The Mandalorian on Disney+ and the recent movie, The Mandalorian and Grogu. However, for Djarin's next appearance, Disney+ replaced Pascal with another actor.
Disney confirmed that, along with the release of The Mandalorian & Grogu on Disney+ on September 2, the studio is also releasing a new special: LEGO Star Wars: The Mandalorian. The special is a comedic retelling of moments from all three seasons of The Mandalorian in LEGO form, but the first trailer and press release for LEGO Star Wars: The Mandalorian confirm that Pascal won't be voicing his Star Wars hero in the new project. Instead, Gavin Hammon will be stepping in to voice Din Djarin.
The recast is taking place despite several original actors from The Mandalorian returning to reprise their roles in LEGO Star Wars: The Mandalorian. Stars including Katee Sackhoff, Emily Swallow, Ming-Na Wen, Rosario Dawson, Temuera Morrison, and Giancarlo Esposito all appear in the special to voice their original characters from The Mandalorian.
That said, it's not all that uncommon for LEGO projects to recast actors in their adaptations, with most ending up as a mix of new voice actors and original stars, depending on availability. For example, the recent LEGO Star Wars: Rebuild the Galaxy miniseries featured Mark Hamill as Luke Skywalker, but in LEGO Star Wars: The Mandalorian, his role will be taken over by Eric Bauza.
Din Djarin plays a key role in LEGO Star Wars: The Mandalorian, just as he did in the original Disney+ series. The special recreates some of the most iconic moments from the series, with the trailer showing off the Mandalorian and Grogu's first meeting, the Luke Skywalker vs. Dark Trooper fight, and Djarin and IG-88's team-up.
However, even in the original The Mandalorian series, many of Pascal's scenes as Din Djarin featured someone else behind the helmet. Stunt doubles Brendan Wayne and Lateef Crowder would often step into the Mandalorian armor for Pascal, either to pull off complex action sequences or to stand in for Pascal if he had scheduling conflicts, leaving him to provide voice-over later.
While Pascal isn't doing the voice work for Din Djarin this time around, it doesn't mean his future with the character is over. Pascal told Discussing Film during the The Mandalorian and Grogu press tour earlier this year that he would play Din Djarin for as long as his body and the fans would allow him:
"You know, age is a real thing... Whatever my body can do, and however long people want to experience these stories with these characters, is how long I want it to last."
Pascal added in an interview with CBR that he has "hope for a next chapter," as the Mandalorian, and that for him, it's "work that I always want to get:"
"I see a next chapter. I hope for a next chapter. I think that there isn't really enough that we can get out of Mando and Grogu, especially as a duo. Along with that, I think that the world that Jon Favreau and Dave Filoni have built within this specific timeline just has so much Star Wars opportunities, Star Wars storytelling. And especially if the people that are behind it, it's just work that I always want to get... I wanna see. It's the most talented people in the business. So, I do hope, big screen or small, that it continues."
Will Pedro Pascal Return as the Mandalorian?
While Pascal has been clear about his hopes to return as the Mandalorian in future Star Wars projects, the question is: will he have the opportunity?
The Mandalorian and Grogu was a risky experiment for Lucasfilm, marking the first time a live-action Star Wars streaming series has transitioned to a theatrical format. The results did not inspire much confidence, with The Mandalorian and Grogu's box office returns failing to break even.
This has thrown the future of the MandoVerse into doubt, with hopes of a The Mandalorian and Grogu trilogy, or even Djarin and Grogu's return in the MandoVerse crossover film, now uncertain. These were the two most likely places for the duo to return in the live-action Star Wars universe, particularly with The Mandalorian's run on Disney+ seemingly at an end.
That said, Dave Filoni, one of the co-creators of The Mandalorian and the MandoVerse, is now in charge as co-CEO of Lucasfilm, so his confidence in that universe could be enough to see it continue. Additionally, Disney CEO Josh D'Amaro shared that The Mandalorian and Grogu, while not as profitable as hoped, did help drive revenue to other areas of the business, proving the two characters are still important to the Star Wars ecosystem.
