Pedro Pascal's New Movie With 86% On Rotten Tomatoes Is A Surprising Career First

Pedro Pascal‘s new movie, which has an 86% score on Rotten Tomatoes, marks a surprising career first for the star. After spending almost 20 years playing minor roles on television, the Chilean-American actor broke out as Oberyn Martell in Game of Thrones season 4. From there, his role as Din Djarin in The Mandalorian and Emmy-nominated performance as Joel in HBO’s The Last of Us propelled him to further fame and earned him a reputation for playing surrogate father figures.

Though Pascal has already starred in big-budget movies like Wonder Woman 1984 and Gladiator II, he’s due for an even bigger breakout with his upcoming roles, beginning with his MCU debut as Reed Richards in The Fantastic Four: First Steps this summer. He will also reprise his role as Din Djarin in The Mandalorian and Grogu movie, releasing in May 2026. In addition to these blockbusters, Pascal stars in two A24 movies releasing in 2025 – Celine Song’s Materialists and Ari Aster’s Eddington.

Materialists Is Pedro Pascal’s First Rom-Com

The Movie Releases On June 13

After acting for 25 years, Materialists marks Pedro Pascal’s first romantic comedy of his career. Written and directed by Celine Song, who made her debut with Past Lives in 2023, the film follows Dakota Johnson as Lucy, a driven matchmaker in New York City who finds herself torn between her perfect match, Harry (played by Pedro Pascal), and her imperfect ex, John (Chris Evans). Materialists‘ cast also includes Zoë Winters, Marin Ireland, Dasha Nekrasova, Louisa Jacobson, Sawyer Spielberg, Eddie Cahill, Joseph Lee, and John Magaro.

It’s somewhat surprising that Pascal has never done a rom-com before Materialists. He has all the qualities for being a great rom-com star – he’s clearly very charming, charismatic, and capable of doing comedy. In Game of Thrones, his promiscuous Prince Oberyn had Sєxual chemistry with just about anyone he locked eyes with. In turn, it’s great to see him finally doing a real rom-com, which will showcase a side of Pascal that we all know he has in him.

Materialists’ Reviews Suggest Pascal Is A Rom-Com Natural

The Movie Has An 86% RT Score

Materialists‘ reviews, for the most part, are very positive, indicated by its 86% score on Rotten Tomatoes, which is a great sign for the movie. Critics are widely praising the film’s sharp twist on rom-com tropes, emotional depth, and modern approach to romance. Pete Hammond of ᴅᴇᴀᴅline calls it “the best movie about the search for love in many years,” while Ross Bonaime of Collider declares Song “the most impressive writer and director of modern love stories working today.” Several reviews highlight the movie’s thoughtful exploration of love in a modern materialistic world.

Among the enthusiastic praise, Pascal’s performance has been singled out by multiple critics. Zach Pope Reviews describes him as “just amazing,” while Tessa Smith at The Direct says that Pascal “steals the show” by “delivering a career-best performance.” These reviews reinforce that Materialists is not just an engaging love story, but a showcase of an exceptional performance from Pascal.

Pedro Pascal Will Hopefully Keep Making Movies Like This

Not Necessarily Rom-Coms

Hopefully, Materialists is just the beginning of Pascal opting for more grounded, character-driven projects alongside his blockbuster commitments. While some will find it exciting to see him suit up as Reed Richards in Avengers: Doomsday and Secret Wars, movies like Materialists offer Pascal the opportunities to play complex, vulnerable characters in ways that superhero flicks rarely allow. Working with auteurs like Celine Song and Ari Aster will only deepen his already impressive range.

These types of projects give Pedro Pascal the creative freedom to break out of his “franchise dad” mold and showcase the kind of risk-taking performances that made audiences love him in the first place.

It’s not necessarily that Pascal should stick to rom-coms specifically, but rather that he should keep balancing his franchise work with daring, auteur-driven projects. The upcoming A24 movie Eddington, from Ari Aster, seems like another promising step in that direction. These types of projects give Pedro Pascal the creative freedom to break out of his “franchise dad” mold and showcase the kind of risk-taking performances that made audiences love him in the first place. His career needs that variety.

Materialists releases in theaters on June 13.