The Pascal Pulse - Issue 35

With Pedro now returning to the galaxy far, far away in the newly released The Mandalorian & Grogu trailer, it’s hard not to pause and take in just how far this journey has come. Years ago, he walked into what he has described simply as a meeting about “something Star Wars,” with very little expectation, assuming he might be there for a small, hidden role. By his own account, he even asked, “Who do you want me to play… the bug?” not realizing he was being considered for the Mandalorian himself. There were no guarantees, no sense of the cultural moment it would become. And here we are. This week, we’re reflecting on growth, on staying the course, and on what it means to allow a story to unfold in its own time.

Success can look inevitable when you’re only seeing the ending. But long before global audiences, before iconic roles and packed convention halls, Pedro was navigating the quieter, harder chapters. Years of auditions that didn’t lead anywhere. Jobs taken to pay the bills. Moments of uncertainty that stretched far longer than expected. He has described having what he calls the “cliché struggling actor story,” waiting tables in New York and wondering if things would ever truly change, of which was a path that ultimately made his journey a longer one.

Those years were not detours. They were the foundation. What we see now is the result of endurance, of continuing even when recognition didn’t come quickly and of trusting something internal enough to keep going without guarantees. And through it all, he remained unmistakably himself, bringing the same humor, vulnerability, and openness to small stages and bit parts that he now brings to the biggest projects in the world.

The world didn’t suddenly create who he is. He has never hidden himself. It finally caught up to him. It’s easy, from the outside, to build tidy narratives about people. To imagine we understand their path. To fill in the blanks with our own expectations. But real lives are not written that cleanly. They are layered, evolving, and deeply personal in ways we will never fully see.

Sometimes what changes is not the person we admire, but our awareness of who they have always been. Disappointment can come from that realization. So can growth. Because the truth is, none of us are meant to stay frozen in a version of ourselves that exists only in someone else’s imagination. Life asks all of us to adapt, to reveal new parts of who we are, to move forward even when others expected something different.

To admire someone’s work is to celebrate the life that shaped it, even the parts we don’t fully see or understand. His story reminds us that success is rarely a straight line. It is built in persistence. In patience. In choosing to keep showing up as yourself, again and again, until the world makes room for you.

Maybe acceptance is not about letting go of admiration, but about widening it, about allowing space for complexity, and about recognizing that the same authenticity that carried someone through years of struggle is still there, even as the spotlight grows brighter.

And maybe, as a community, we can offer one another that same grace, to let people grow, to let stories evolve, and to let someone simply be human without asking them to match the version we once imagined. Sometimes the most meaningful chapters are not the ones we expected, but the ones that reveal who someone has been all along.

On February 17, Lucasfilm dropped the new trailer for The Mandalorian & Grogu, and We are sorry but the vibes are officially: bigger screen, bigger stakes, bigger “Din Djarin, please let me breathe.” energy - yes, it’s officially marching into theaters (and IMAX) on May 22, 2026.

If you’ve been living in the warm, cozy cave of “Mando Mondays” for years, this trailer is a gentle (explosive) reminder that our favorite Space Dad and his chaos-toddler are leveling up from Disney+ to full cinematic scale. And it really feels like a movie with bigger action beats, louder underworld energy, and a galaxy that looks like it wants to swallow them whole.

What the trailer is telling us

Din is still Din. He is trying to do the right thing, trying to keep his kid safe, trying to exist in a galaxy that will not stop throwing warlords, criminals, and messy politics at his face. The New Republic is in the mix, and the trailer hints at the classic Star Wars problem: the Empire is gone, but the mess isn’t. Which means… guess who’s getting hired to clean it up? Our favorite reluctant hero with a jetpack and a headache.

And yes: this one is going full underworld. Hutts are back (plural, which is always a sign the galaxy is about to get slimy in a fun way), and the whole thing has that “organized crime + big mission + someone is absolutely going to double-cross someone” tension.

Din unmasked. That’s it. That’s the bullet point. We are normal about it.(We are not, it happened twice just in the trailer. They have been listening when we cried about our emotionaly unavailable space dad.)
Grogu is still the emotional center of the universe. Tiny. Powerful. Probably about to press a button he shouldn’t.
Sigourney Weaver shows up with major “I run this briefing and you will listen” energy. Like - Space Mother has arrived, and she’s not here to play.
Zeb is there and we love when the galaxy feels connected. Give us crossovers that make everything feel lived-in and real.
Jeremy Allen White as Rotta the Hutt is such a wild sentence to type in 2026, but here we are, blessed and confused.
And then: Martin Scorsese. In Star Wars. In this economy. If you needed proof we’re in the weirdest timeline, it’s literally right there on screen.

Din Djarin as a character has always worked because he’s built like a legend and acts like a tired man trying to do one (1) moral thing in a universe that keeps setting itself on fire. Moving that character into a theatrical story - where the stakes have to be bigger and the emotions have to land in fewer minutes - could be the perfect pressure cooker.

If this trailer is the promise, the movie’s thesis might be: Din and Grogu aren’t just surviving the galaxy anymore, they might be helping decide what it becomes next.

In a new Remezcla interview, our fave Javiera Balmaceda (Amazon Studios’ Head of Originals for Latin America, Canada & Australia) is doing what she always does best: speaking with real care about the work behind the buzzwords.

It’s not “representation” as a slogan - it’s representation as choices, as backing projects and creatives and actually putting resources where the values are.

She name-checks titles she’s helped bring into the world like Argentina, 1985 (Golden Globe winner; a Latin American Oscar nominee in 2023), Pimpinero: Sangre y Gasolina (TIFF 2024 official selection), and Belén (Goya-nominated for Best Iberoamerican Film).

Hearing her talk is such a relief, because her point is both simple and needed: Latin America isn’t one vibe. It shouldn’t only show up on screen as trauma, violence, or a single “acceptable” storyline. Even when injustice is the spark, she believes the story can still move toward justice, hope, and the kind of forward-looking generational healing she talks about with the planned adaptation of Isabel Allende’s The House of the Spirits. She also stresses how layered and contradictory the region is and she’s clear about the responsibility she feels (as a white Latina) to make sure the full spectrum of voices gets space.

Basically, Javi’s building a slate with a pulse, not a stereotype, and we love getting to hear her explain why.

A new throwback still from Hermanas (2004) was shared on Instagram by photographer John Harris (@jrockfoto), and it’s such a lovely early Pedro find. In the post, he recalls working on the film in Argentina in 2004, where Pedro played a small role as a thrift shop worker and a friend of one of the sisters.

What makes the post even sweeter is the personal note: he describes Pedro as a genuinely nice, funny guy back then and says that, based on his interviews and SNL appearances now, he’s still exactly that. He also mentioned he’ll be sharing more behind-the-scenes photos in the coming days, so yes, we are officially seated. For Pedro fans, it’s one more little window into the early years and a reminder that the charm has always been there.

Lux Pascal is having a major moment and Vanity Fair’s new profile captures exactly why. In “Lux Pascal’s American Dream” (Feb. 20, 2026), Lux opens up about leaving behind a thriving artistic career in Chile to start over in the US, not because she lacked success, but because she wanted a life that felt more fully her own.

“At the core of it all, I was leading a life that I wasn’t necessarily happy with…I wanted to start over. And I did.”

The piece follows her through this next chapter of her career - from off-Broadway and film roles to fashion world recognition - while also highlighting the emotional honesty and artistic clarity that make her so compelling.

“Heartbreak is kind of my used-to.”

What stands out most is how intentional she is about her work and identity. Lux speaks about not wanting to be boxed in by the industry, even as she takes on meaningful roles like Carlita in Miss Carbón, and she frames her choices through craft, challenge, and truth rather than labels. She also shares a beautiful line about performance that feels like the heart of the whole interview: “Finding your light.” It’s a profile about reinvention, Chilean identity, resilience, and the kind of star power that feels grounded, not manufactured.

“It’s so much of what acting is about, and being onstage, and being on the runway,” Pascal says, those brown eyes wide.“Finding your light.”

Malpaso is a contemporary dance company celebrated for blending modern technique with the rhythms and musicality of Cuban culture. The group has earned international recognition for its bold, athletic style and collaborations with major artists and institutions. While in New York, Pedro stopped by to spend time with them, looking very cozy bundled up in his jacket and sitting crisscross applesauce.

Pablo mechaclavo on X shared a throwback that feels like a little time capsule. He uncovered a photo from 1996, taken when Pedro’s father was interviewed for Caras magazine. In the image, a very young Pedro stands alongside his parents, Lux, and Nico - two of his three siblings.

He was about 21 or 22 years old, still years away from becoming the internet’s favorite. It’s simply a family moment, captured without any sense of the cultural phenomenon he would one day become.

Some people collect vinyl records. Some people build Lego sets. And some of us, apparently, print out pixelated papercraft templates and assemble Pedro Pascal in multiple cinematic forms on our kitchen table. This is called culture.

For this issue, we’re bringing you a small but mighty dose of creative chaos: Minecraft-style papercraft templates featuring Pedro in several iconic variations. You can build The Mandalorian. You can build Mr. Fantastic. You can build Joel Miller. You can build Met Gala Pedro. You can even build Premiere-in-London Pedro. A whole multiverse, but make it scissors and glue.

These templates are not here to be “perfect.” They’re here to be fun, slightly cursed, and deeply lovable.

Think of it as a low-stakes creative ritual. Print one. Build one. Or build all of them and create your own tiny Pedro Cinematic Universe. Line them up. Take photos. Let them guard your bookshelf. Let Joel judge your life choices from a pixelated corner. Let Mando protect your desk. Let Met Gala Pedro serve looks in 8-bit glory.

If you decide to make one, please show us. Post your build on Instagram and tag us - we’d love to share your 8-bit Pedro and celebrate your tiny masterpiece with the rest of the fandom.

This week’s artist spotlight goes to Paa Draw, whose digital work has a beautifully painterly feel - soft in texture, but full of presence.

The piece that caught our eye is this striking Dieter-inspired portrait, built with dramatic shadow, warm tones, and a profile angle that makes the whole image feel cinematic. There’s something quietly powerful about it: the expression, the lighting, the brushwork, even the way the background stays loose so the emotion stays front and center. It feels intentional, immersive, and deeply felt.

Paa Draw’s page is a lovely mix of sketches and fan art, with work inspired by stories and characters many of us love. What stands out most is the atmosphere, each piece feels like more than a likeness; it feels like a mood, a moment, a reaction. That’s the magic of fan art when it’s made with this much care.

Go show them some love and support. Artists like Paa Draw make fandom spaces feel more creative, more personal, and a lot more alive.

Last weekend, we officially announced this year’s Birthday Project, “Because You’re Here,” and we wanted to share a quick reminder as submissions continue to come in.

We’ve already received some truly amazing submissions, and we’re so grateful to everyone who has sent theirs in early, thank you for being so thoughtful and timely. If you’re planning to participate, we kindly encourage you not to wait until the last minute, as this helps us stay organized and give every entry the care it deserves.

This year’s project is a digital comfort book filled with letters, art, stories, photos, and messages from fans around the world, created to remind Pedro how loved and supported he is. After the success of our 2024 Times Square project and our 2025 global collaboration, this year’s project is especially personal and heartfelt.

Submissions are open through March 20, 2026. We’re accepting letters, artwork, pet photos, kindness stories, micro-messages, and more (all original, human-made content).

📩 Send submissions to: [email protected]

For full guidelines, prompts, and FAQs, please visit our website or check out our Instagram post for details.

🔗 thepascalpulse.com/birthday-project

Thank you for helping us create something filled with comfort, gratitude, and love. We can’t wait to see what you share.

Some statements don’t need footnotes. This tee from Poetic Betty turns that truth into wearable philosophy: What’s More Punk Than Pedro Pascal? Printed on a black, vintage-style 100% cotton shirt, it’s equal parts pop-culture wink and quiet manifesto. Poetic Betty has been living at the crossroads of film, music, and internet folklore since 2018, and this piece feels like a greatest-hits slogan for the era of lovable, soft-spoken screen icons with unexpected edge. Consider it merch, consider it mood, or consider it your new uniform for reminding the world that kindness, weirdness, and Pedro Pascal can absolutely be punk.

Created by Fans, for Fans

Maiev @LittleMrsMorales & Mel @StainsOfPascal & Jackie 💜

Special Thanks:

To Pedro - thank you for proving that sometimes, society does make the right person famous. Thank you for standing beside those who feel unseen, unheard, and uncertain of their place in the world. You remind us that visibility can be an act of grace.

To our readers - thank you for filling our inbox, our hearts, and this tiny corner of the internet with your brilliance. You turn a project into a community.

See you in the next issue!
Remember: you’re not too much.
You’re exactly the right amount of obsessed.
Until next time