Pedro Pascal Wants to Keep Playing The Mandalorian Forever

Pedro Pascal says he wants to keep playing Din Djarin “for as long as my body can take it”
Death rumors are swirling around The Mandalorian and Grogu after trailers teased Djarin preparing Grogu for life without him
Pascal revealed he had no idea he was being cast as the lead when Jon Favreau first showed him the show
The Mandalorian and Grogu hits theaters May 22 — the first Star Wars film since The Rise of Skywalker
The cast includes Sigourney Weaver, Jeremy Allen White, and a Martin Scorsese voice cameo

Seven years into playing Din Djarin, Pedro Pascal isn’t ready to hang up the beskar armor anytime soon — death rumors be damned.

At a UK fan event Q&A ahead of The Mandalorian and Grogu‘s May 22 theatrical release, Pascal got candid about his history with the role and what he’s hoping comes next. “I’m completely grateful. It’s the longest creative relationship I’ve had, it’s the character that I’ve played the longest,” he said. “Hopefully, I get to continue playing him for as long as my body, or as many bodies as we put into the suit, can take it.”

It’s a quote that’s equal parts heartfelt and knowing — because right now, fans are genuinely worried that Din Djarin might not make it out of his first big-screen adventure alive.

Why Fans Think Din Djarin Might Die in the New Film

The trailers for The Mandalorian and Grogu have been leaning hard into one particular emotional thread: Mando preparing Grogu for a future without him. It makes sense within the mythology — Grogu is a Force-sensitive being who will outlive Din Djarin by centuries — but the way Lucasfilm has made it a centerpiece of the marketing has set off alarm bells for fans who’ve seen this kind of setup before.

Pascal addressed it directly, if carefully, at the Q&A. “They are real partners, at this point,” he said of the duo. “Grogu is on every mission, on every adventure, they are side by side. And it’s sentimental, because Din Djarin knows that this creature will outlive him, and I think that, existentially, he’s very, very focused on making sure that he can survive in a world without him.”

He went even deeper on the emotional core of their bond. “The power that Grogu has surpasses Mando’s by a lot. And yet none of us wants to let go of our child, and none of us wants to keep that child from growing into everything that they can do. So that’s really, I think, the very, very textured relationship and story that they’re able to tell on a thrill ride that you cannot believe.”

It’s a beautifully articulated answer — and also one that reveals absolutely nothing about whether Djarin actually survives. Pascal knows exactly what he can and can’t say with weeks to go before release. Lucasfilm’s secrecy is legendary, and he’s been in this world long enough to play the game perfectly.

The Accidental Casting Story That Makes It All Better

While the death speculation gives this press tour a layer of dramatic tension, the real gem from the Q&A was Pascal’s story about how he got the role in the first place — and the fact that he had absolutely no idea it was his.

“The very first thing that happened was a call from my agent that said, ‘Jon Favreau wants to talk to you about something Star Wars,’” Pascal recalled. “Because everything Star Wars was so secret. And I was like, ‘Okay.’ And I got there early, and so I sat on my phone for a bit, because I was embarrassed. I didn’t want to interrupt the writers’ room or anything like that. Jon comes out into the parking lot. He’s like, ‘Hey, come out of your car.’”

“And I got out of the car, they take me in,” he continued. “They show me this magical, magical, wall to wall, first season story illustration, this entire world of Star Wars. I see Grogu. And I asked, I said, ‘Okay, so, what am I? Like, who — am I a droid? What voice do you want?’ Then they were like, blinking back at me like they were confused. And then they were like, ‘You’re the Mandalorian.’”

The man thought he might be voicing a robot. Now, seven years later, he’s the face of the franchise.

What the Movie Actually Looks Like

The Mandalorian and Grogu marks the first Star Wars film to hit theaters since The Rise of Skywalker back in 2019, and it’s bringing a stacked cast along for the ride. Sigourney Weaver plays New Republic Colonel Ward, Jeremy Allen White takes on the role of Rotta the Hutt — son of Jabba — and Martin Scorsese shows up in a voice cameo as an Ardennian who owns a food truck.

Director Jon Favreau clearly had a blast with that last one. “He’s great, he’s hilarious — and the type of character, we gave him room to do his thing,” Favreau said of Scorsese’s cameo. “It really plays into his performance style and the animators and creature designers really leaned into it so it’s one of the highlights of the film for me.”

The plot centers on Din Djarin and Grogu being enlisted by the New Republic to rescue Rotta the Hutt in exchange for information from the Hutt clan on a mysterious target. For fans who’ve been waiting since The Mandalorian Season 3 wrapped in 2023, this is the reunion they’ve been counting down to — and a prequel comic is also on the way to fill in what the duo’s been up to in the interim.

Box office projections have been modest by Star Wars standards, but the film’s efficient production budget means success is well within reach. And if it performs, the appetite for more is obvious — Mandalorian Season 4 isn’t happening anytime soon, which makes this film the only game in town for Mando fans.

Whatever happens to Din Djarin on May 22, Pedro Pascal has made one thing clear: he’s not done with this character. Whether the galaxy far, far away is done with him is the question the film will have to answer.