Director Zach Cregger has confirmed that Pedro Pascal was originally set to play Josh Brolin's character in his new horror Weapons.
The Barbarian filmmaker's latest horror tells the story of a fictional Pennsylvania community who are rocked by the disappearance of 17 schoolchildren, who all woke up at the same time and mysteriously fled their homes in the middle of the night.
In an interview with Entertainment Weekly, Cregger revealed that he originally had "a whole different cast" for his movie - including Pascal as grieving father Archer Graff - before Hollywood writers and actors went on strike for several months in 2023.
"I had a whole different cast for this movie. And then we had the strike, and then Pedro Pascal's schedule threw us into turmoil. I had to recast the entire movie," he said.
Cregger confirmed earlier reports that his film was set to star Pascal, Brian Tyree Henry, The Walking Dead's Austin Abrams and The Worst Person in the World star Renate Reinsve.
He explained that their schedules no longer aligned post-strike, so he had to replace most of his cast.
"This is what happens, right?" he continued. "The strikes delayed us, and then when you delay, people's schedules get conflicts, and then you're back at square one. I bear no ill will towards anybody. We just kept getting delayed and delayed. It's like a domino effect. So I had to start over again."
Out of the initial four, only Abrams carried over into the final cast as the homeless drug addict James, with the Wolfs star telling the publication that he "loved the part" and "didn't wanna let it go".
Brolin was ultimately cast as Archer, while Julia Garner replaced Reinsve as schoolteacher Justine, and Benedict Wong was cast as school principal Andrew.
The main ensemble was rounded out by Alden Ehrenreich as police officer Paul and Cary Christopher as Alex, the only child who didn't disappear.
Weapons will be released in cinemas on Friday.
