Pedro Pascal to star in Weapons from Barbarian director Zach Cregger

THR reports that Pedro Pascal has signed on to star in Weapons, the new movie from Zack Cregger, director of last year’s surprise horror hit Barbarian.

Zach Cregger will write and direct Weapons, which has been described as an “interrelated, multistory horror epic” said to be tonally in the same vein as Paul Thomas Anderson’s Magnolia. It’s not known who Pedro Pascal would play in Weapons. Production is expected to get underway this fall, with Cregger also producing the project alongside Roy Lee of Vertigo and J.D. Lifshitz and Raphael Margules of BoulderLight Pictures.

You might remember that Weapons was at the heart of a brief but intense Hollywood bidding war. New Line Cinema came out the winner, with Zach Cregger receiving eight figures to write and direct. The project also has a guaranteed greenlight and theatrical release, with Cregger receiving the final cut, provided test screenings go well. “Zach proved with Barbarian that he can create a visceral theatrical experience for audiences and that he commands every tool in the filmmaker toolbelt,“vsaid New Line’s president and CCO, Richard Brener. “We couldn’t be happier that he, Roy [Lee] and Miri [Yoon], and J.D. [Lifshitz]and Rafi [Margules] chose New Line to be the home of his next film, and hope it is the first of many to come.“

Pedro Pascal has been enjoying increased popularity thanks to his starring role in The Last of Us. The HBO series is an adaptation of the video-game of the same name and takes place “20 years after modern civilization has been destroyed by a deadly virus. Joel, a hardened survivor, is hired to smuggle Ellie, a 14-year-old girl, out of an oppressive quarantine zone to the Fireflies, a cure-searching organization. What starts as a small job soon becomes a brutal, heartbreaking journey, as they both must traverse across the U.S. and depend on each other for survival.” The show was a major success for the studio and a second season has been ordered. Production isn’t expected to begin until next year, which means that the second season likely won’t air until late 2024 or even early 2025. He’s also set to join the cast of Ridley Scott’s Gladiator sequel.