The Pedro Pascal Sci-Fi Western Thriller Fans Need To Discover, Stream Right Now
Before Pedro Pascal became a bonafide sci-fi icon in The Mandalorian, he starred in an underrated sci-fi Western thriller, Prospect, in 2018. It’s an intriguing and scrappy film that started off as a Kickstarter-funded short film. If you want to check it out for free, you can stream it on the Tubi platform.
Low-Budget Sci-Fi Is Often The Best Sci-Fi
Prospect follows a man (Jay Duplass) and his teenage daughter, Cee (Sophie Thatcher), as they land on a forest moon to mine for gems. On the moon, they run into two rival prospectors, Ezra (Pedro Pascal) and his silent partner (Luke Pitzrick). While initially hostile to each other, they decide to join forces to uncover the legendary “queen’s lair,” which is a dig site rumored to be filled with riches.
Pedro Pascal Is A Reluctant Father Figure For The First Time
Much like The Mandalorian, Pedro Pascal is teamed up with a young ward in Prospect, though under decidedly different circumstances. Both Pascal and Thatcher give great performances, which helps to carry the tight budget the sci-fi was made on. It’s not a sci-fi laden with special effects, but if you love a good character-driven piece, this might be the right film for you.
Pascal Brings His A-Game To The Small Production
When Pedro Pascal starred in Prospect, he was best known for his roles as Oberyn Martell in Game of Thrones and Javier Pena in Narcos. It was just before he rocketed to superstardom in projects like The Mandalorian, The Last of Us, and the upcoming Fantastic Four. As you might expect, Pascal gives a riveting performance as a prospector whose intentions are, at times, hard to read.
Kickstarter Success Story
The story before Pedro Pascal’s casting in Prospect is pretty interesting, too, as the directors and writers of the film, Zeek Earl and Chris Caldwell, were mostly making commercials and short films through their Shep Films banner at the time. Eventually, they secured $21,000 on Kickstarter to make a short film of Prospect, which garnered attention at the SXSW Film Festival and became a viral hit on Vimeo. They would then get $4 million from Canadian BRON Studios to turn it into a feature-length production.
Limitations Breed Creativity
With $4 million still being a tight budget for a film, they then got access to a former ship-building warehouse to make a lot of the practical ships, costumes, and weapons for the film. It’s safe to say that nowadays, they wouldn’t have had the budget for Pedro Pascal to star, so it’s definitely cool to see him in a more indie-level project like Prospect. The film ended up getting pretty positive reviews too, making it an overall success.
Check It Out For Free On Tubi
Pedro Pascal’s upcoming projects will be much bigger productions than Prospect, with one of his upcoming roles being Gladiator 2. That film is directed by Ridley Scott, who directed the original Russell Crowe film and is expected to come out in November this year. Of course, we can also look forward to Pascal joining the MCU as Reed Richards/Mr. Fantastic when The Fantastic Four comes out in 2025.
In the meantime, make sure to check out Pedro Pascal in Prospect. It should be the perfect weekend watch if you’re a sci-fi fan or a Pascal fan in general. You can now stream it for free on Tubi.
