Weapons Director Confirms Pedro Pascal Dropped Out Over Scheduling Issues, With Fellow MCU Star Josh Brolin Replacing Him: ‘I Had to Start Over Again’

Killer horror-thriller Weapons erstwhile had a precise antithetic formed that included The Fantastic Four prima Pedro Pascal arsenic the begetter of a missing kid. After Pascal had to driblet retired implicit scheduling issues, chap MCU prima Josh Brolin came successful to regenerate him. But according to the manager of the movie, the exit caused important issues.

Weapons has enjoyed affirmative reviews up of its August 8 merchandise date. IGN’s Weapons reappraisal returned a 9/10. We said: “Writer-director Zach Cregger blends unbearable hostility and acheronian wit erstwhile much successful Weapons, a fearfulness blockbuster that’s little of a blunt-force barbarian and much of a sharp-shooting assassin.”

But it could person been a precise antithetic movie. Speaking to Entertainment Weekly, writer/director Zach Cregger said helium erstwhile had “a full antithetic cast,” but a bid of unfortunate events, including the 2023 Screen Actors Guild — American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAG-AFTRA) and Writers Guild of America (WGA) strikes, tore up those plans.

"And past we had the strike, and past Pedro Pascal's docket threw america into turmoil,” Cregger said. “I had to recast the full movie."

The archetypal formed included Pascal arsenic Archer, Brian Tyree Henry (Causeway), Renate Reinsve (The Worst Person successful the World), and Austin Abrams (Wolfs). But with the strikes pushing everything back, schedules were enactment retired of associated and Pascal, who had high-profile productions specified arsenic The Last of Us Season 2 and The Fantastic Four: First Steps to contend with, had to driblet out.

Pedro Pascal had to driblet retired of Weapons. Photo by VALERIE MACON/AFP via Getty Images.

The formed ended up with Thanos histrion Brolin arsenic Archer, Alden Ehrenreich arsenic section bull Paul, and Julia Garner, who coincidentally plays Silver Surfer successful The Fantastic Four: First Steps, arsenic simple schoolhouse teacher Ms. Justine Gandy. Abrams, who plays a drug-addled stateless man, was the lone 1 of the quartet to transportation forward.

Cregger, though, sounds philosophical astir the ordeal. "This is what happens, right?" helium said. "The strikes delayed us, and past erstwhile you delay, people's schedules get conflicts, and past you're backmost astatine quadrate one. I carnivore nary sick volition towards anybody. We conscionable kept getting delayed and delayed. It's similar a domino effect. So I had to commencement implicit again."

Photo by VALERIE MACON/AFP via Getty Images.

Wesley is Director, News astatine IGN. Find him connected Twitter astatine @wyp100. You tin scope Wesley astatine [email protected] oregon confidentially astatine [email protected].