Why Pedro Pascal Left Narcos After Season 3

 

Before starring in The Mandalorian and The Last of Us, Pedro Pascal rose to stardom on Narcos — but why did he make a season 3 exit from the show?

Pedro Pascal wearing sunglasses in Narcos

SUMMARY

•  Pedro Pascal's departure from Narcos after season 3 was always part of the plan, according to showrunner Eric Newman.
•  Pascal's character, Javier Peña, was originally kept for the final season to maintain an emotional tie, but his exit was a deliberate decision to start a new story in Mexico.
•  Rumors that Pascal's exit was due to a real-life tragedy involving the murder of a location scout are unfounded, as his departure from the show was always intended.

Netflix's crime drama about the rise of the cocaine trade in Colombia left fans wondering why Pedro Pascal left Narcos after season 3. The series ran from 2015 to 2017, so Pascal, who played Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) agent Javier Peña, worked on Narcos long before his starring roles in The Mandalorian and HBO's adaptation of The Last of Us. After working hard across two seasons to bring down billionaire narcoterrorist and drug kingpin Pablo Escobar (Wagner Moura), Pedro Pascal's character was tasked with taking down a different cartel in Narcos season 3.

The rare series that gained more critical acclaim across each subsequent season, Narcos was seemingly poised to continue its successful run, especially with Peña being one of Pedro Pascal's best characters of all time. But Narcos traded on-screen suspense for real-life drama: after three seasons, the show — and Pascal's time on it — came to an end, paving the way for the 2018 shared-universe spinoff series Narcos: Mexico. While Pedro Pascal's Narcos exit was rumored to have been fraught, the series' showrunner insists otherwise.

Pedro Pascal's Narcos Exit Was Always Part Of The Plan

While Narcos: Mexico is a kind of season 4 spiritual successor to the three-season original series, it resulted in the question of why the Colombia-set crime drama shifted locations. More than that, Narcos traded long-time protagonist Javier Peña — and actor Pedro Pascal — for new leads. The real-life Javier Peña, who investigated Pablo Escobar and the Medellín Cartel, served as a consultant on the show. To keep the show as authentic as possible, Pedro Pascal's two-season co-star Boyd Holbrook, who played agent Steve Murphy, left Narcos before season 3.

Pascal, on the other hand, was kept on for the final season of Narcos to provide fans with an existing emotional tie to the story. But Pascal's time on Narcos was never meant to last. "It was a part of the plan as early as season two," Narcos showrunner Eric Newman told The Hollywood Reporter. "The design was always to finish out the Colombian story and the players that we’ve come to know there and then start anew in Mexico." According to Newman, Pascal was well aware of his season 3 exit, which led the actor to wrestle with the idea of having his character killed off versus leaving the cameo door open.

Did Pedro Pascal Leave Narcos Due To A Real-Life Tragedy?

Ahead of the filming of Narcos: Mexico, the series location scout Carlos Muñoz Portal was murdered in the Mexican state of Hidalgo. Shortly after the 2017 tragedy, TMZ asked Pedro Pascal about the distressing incident. While Pascal expressed his sadness and concern, he didn't indicate that the murder had anything to do with his leaving Narcos. However, that didn't stop rumors from swirling and conflating Pascal's departure with the real-life tragedy. It's clear that the actor was always meant to exit Narcos after season 3 to make way for a new story. Things likely worked out for the best — Pedro Pascal is already having a great 2023 and beyond.