Pedro Pascal became a star thanks to Wonder Woman, Game of Thrones, and The Mandalorian, but Narcos hooked fans. From 2015 to 2017, he brought the dangerous world of Pablo Escobar to life as Javier Peña. But in 2017, Pascal walked away from the show—not because of a busy schedule but because of something way more chilling.
Tragedy struck when location scout Carlos Muñoz Portal was found dead in a remote area in Mexico while scouting for Narcos: Mexico. His death, tied to cartel violence, forced Pascal and the entire crew to rethink the safety of filming in such dangerous areas. Pascal clarified: “We can’t do it if it’s unsafe. We’re talking about lives.” And when a lead star says safety comes first, you know it’s no joke.
Around the same time, the drama also kicked off behind the scenes with Pablo Escobar’s brother, Roberto De Jesus Escobar Gaviria, threatening to shut the show down unless Netflix forked out a whopping $1 billion. He even went so far as to suggest that Netflix hire “hitmen” for security. “You have to eliminate all threats,” he said, recounting a close call with the military in the jungle while hauling around $2 million in cash. “If you have the intellect, you don’t need to use weapons,” he added. “If not, you have to.”
While this situation sounds like a Hollywood thriller, it was also a stark reminder of the real-life dangers the Narcos team faced while filming. Following Portal’s death, Netflix released a statement expressing condolences, but the series was never the same. Filming for Narcos Season 4 did begin late in 2017 but, in the end, took a different direction with a fresh cast, shifting the focus to the Juarez cartel in Mexico. The Narcos: Mexico spinoff returned with its third and final season in 2021, but Pascal was absent.
These days, Pascal has his hands full with The Last of Us and The Mandalorian—and probably a few other things. As for Narcos, well, the show carried on without him, but it’s clear that Pascal’s decision not to return wasn’t based on a scheduling conflict—it was about ensuring everyone’s safety in a world where real-life danger is always lurking just off-screen.
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