Pedro Pascal’s newest release, Freaky Tales, entertained audiences at the Sundance Film Festival in January 2024, and it’s actually the most intriguing project that Pascal has on his busy slate now that it’s getting a wide release. From directors Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck (Captain Marvel), Freaky Tales is a one-of-a-kind anthology movie, as it weaves together four interconnected stories that take place in Oakland, California in 1987. The fictionalized stories are set in and around real events from that time period, and the movie is intended to be a celebration of Oakland’s culture at that point in time.

Freaky Tales‘ trailer gave audiences their first look at the heavily-stylized genre-bender, which has elements of action, comedy, and horror in different ratios. It plays heavily on the 1980s West Coast aesthetic, as the trailer showcases the vivid colors, unique clothing style, and distinct music of that time period. As Pedro Pascal has established himself as one of the biggest stars in Hollywood at the opening of 2025, Freaky Tales represents a unique and much-needed departure from his normal cinematic fare, which is why it’s such an exciting project.

Pedro Pascal’s Wild Sundance Anthology Movie Hits Theaters In April

It Arrives In Advance Of Pascal’s Other Major 2025 Projects

Freaky Tales features an eclectic and talented cast, but Pedro Pascal is featured as the movie’s star, a henchman named Clint looking to escape his violent career with a baby on the way for him and his partner. The ever-excellent Ben Mendelsohn (Captain Marvel) is poised to be the movie’s primary antagonist, and Jay Ellis (Top Gun: Maverick) is featured as the real-life NBA All-Star for the Golden State Warriors, Sleepy Floyd. While the trailer focuses mostly on showing off the movie’s intense, stylized violence, it seems as though Floyd is the key to tying the disparate stories together.

While the stars are impressive, the rest of the cast list is jaw-dropping in how loaded and diverse it is. It prominently features musician Normani in her acting debut, for which she was awarded a Breakthrough Award by Variety and the Golden Globes. The ovearching narrative also features the final acting role of the late Angus Cloud, who gained fame as Fezco O’Neill in Max’s Euphoria. On top of those names, there are fun cameos in abundance, including NFL running back-turned sometimes-actor Marshawn Lynch, Oakland area rapper Too Short, and, somewhat bafflingly, Tom Hanks.

Pedro Pascal’s New Movie Is Unlike Anything He’s Ever Done

Pascal Has Never Done Anything Close To An Off-The-Walls, Stylized Anthology

Pedro Pascal has evolved into a true genre chameleon; he’s talented enough to play the heaviest drama as capably as a superhero movie or action comedy. However, he’s never really done anything as unique as the violent, period anthology movie that Freaky Tales is. While he had dozens of minor roles before it, Pascal really broke out as an international star in 2014 as Prince Oberyn Martell in Game of Thrones, which he followed up with a starring role as Javier Peña on Netflix’s hit crime show Narcos.

Since then, Pascal has been one of the busiest actors in Hollywood, balancing major features like Wonder Woman 1984 and The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent with prestige television hits like The Mandalorian and The Last of Us. While the roles have been diverse, Pascal has by and large stuck with more traditional movies and TV shows. Freaky Tales represents an extremely fun departure from the norm for Pascal, and while he has of course done one-off movies in the past, this should stand out among them.

Pedro Pascal’s Non-Franchise Movie Is Very Important For His Career

It Helps Him Avoid Becoming A “Franchise Guy”

Due to his indomitable star power, Pascal quickly rose to the heights of Hollywood as one of the most in-demand leading men. In the span of less than a year, Pascal will have starred in Ridley Scott’s long-awaited sequel Gladiator II, returned for the next season of Max’s runaway hit sci-fi horror video game adaptation show The Last of Us, and donned the mantle of Reed Richards/ Mr. Fantastic in the MCU in Fantastic Four: First Steps. He’ll also reprise his role as Din Djarin in The Mandalorian and Grogu in the expanded Star Wars universe in 2026.

Pascal is set to star in two movies from A24 that are set to debut at some point in 2025: Eddington, a contemporary Western black comedy also starring Joaquin Phoenix, Emma Stone, and Austin Butler, and Materialists, which also features Dakota Johnson and Chris Evans.

Starring in a movie like Freaky Tales keeps Pascal from simply becoming a “franchise guy”, or an actor whose entire career becomes defined by just one or two roles. Pascal is simply too talented to pigeonhole as a superhero or Jedi-adjacent character who exclusively wears a mask, so the fact that he’s continuing to star in other projects is encouraging for any fans of his work. Freaky Tales is exactly the kind of weird, awesome movie that will be enhanced by his presence, and it’d be a shame for him to miss out on similar opportunities for the sake of franchises.