Pedro Pascal gets emotional

CCXP, the Comic Con Experience, is happening in Mexico right now, and last night Pedro Pascal and Jon Favreau appeared, alongside the Grogu puppet, to promote The Mandalorian and Grogu. We must all remember Pedro Pascal is going to do this entire press tour with a baby Yoda puppet, somehow more terrifying than BB-8 haunting the sequel trilogy promotion because Grogu has a FACE. It EMOTES.

Pedro looked dishy, as always, and was visibly moved by his reception from the crowd.

Pedro’s relationship with Star Wars has been, as it is for so many cast members going back to the original trilogy, complicated. Pedro rarely airs his business on anything, but he seemed a little frustrated with The Mandalorian, particularly season 3 and the spin-off The Book of Boba Fett. I get the feeling he doesn’t really like anything that pulls focus from the Mando/Grogu relationship, and later seasons of The Mandalorian got saddled with a lot of nostalgia bait and excess worldbuilding for other projects.

And now the movie might be his final hurrah. Jon Favreau said he had written a fourth season of The Mandalorian, but Daniel Ritchman, who scoops Marvel regularly, reported the fourth season wasn’t happening. That would jive with Lucasfilm’s overall recalibration after doing Too Much Star Wars, and now they’re trying to reset expectations and win back film audiences. At the same time, though, if The Mandalorian and Grogu is a hit this summer, I would not be the least bit surprised if they keep the gravy train rolling.

To that point, The Mandalorian and Grogu has entered the box office forecasting lists. It’s currently tracking for a $90-100 million opening. That would be fantastic, given Star Wars’ damaged goods standing among fans right now, but even better is that this is actually higher than was initially expected. Everyone thought the movie would have a more modest forecast, because of that spiky relationship with the fandom. But the early indicators are strong, which means while the trailers aren’t pushing my buttons, they’re working for someone. A lot of someones.

There is still a month to go before the film opens, this forecast can change, either way, during that time. And remember, we’ve barely started Pedro Pascal’s charm offensive on behalf of the movie. Let’s see how big of a movie star Pedro Pascal really is.

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What else happened today…

Charlize Theron is doing big stunts for her new movie Apex. I don’t think we talk enough about her dedication to stunts, but she does a lot, at least as much as Keanu Reeves, if not quite Tom Cruise-level stunt work. Also, tragic we never got a sequel to Atomic Blonde. (Go Fug Yourself)

This article is how I found out King Charles is now on a state visit to the US. I would have cancelled but I don’t have a castle, so what do I know? (Celebitchy)

The pick me energy of the billionaires is insane to me. If the money doesn’t make you feel better, what is the point of the money? Anyway, here’s Kayleigh Donaldson on why we’ll never like Lauren Sanchez Bezos. (Pajiba)

Helena Bonham Carter departed The White Lotus season four shortly after filming began in the Cote d’Azur. There always seems to be a little drama with the making of this series. At what point do we start asking some tougher questions to Mike White about what kind of boss he is and how he is managing his sets. We know he’s a reality TV fiend and a gossip and he loves drama, all of which feeds into The White Lotus, but also…

Mike White Make A Season Of The White Lotus Without Drama Challenge, you know? (Vanity Fair, thanks MA!)