Star Wars Meets True Grit In Pedro Pascal's Forgotten Sci-Fi Movie That's On Hulu

Published Aug 24, 2026, 1:20 PM EDT

Nick Bythrow is a Lead Writer for ScreenRant. He has been writing for the site since September 2022. He graduated from Hampshire College in 2022, where he triple majored in Journalism, Communications, and Media Studies. When he's not writing about TV and movies for ScreenRant and his blog, Frayed Branches, Nick is penning speculative fiction and poetry on Amazon. He lives outside Boston, Massachusetts.

Star Wars meets True Grit in a forgotten sci-fi Western movie starring Pedro Pascal, which is currently available to watch for free on YouTube right now. Pascal's movies and TV shows have made him a juggernaut in the space of sci-fi fiction. While he originally earned recognition for the Netflix crime drama Narcos and his role as Oberyn Martell on the cast of Game of Thrones, his most recent claim to fame is the Star Wars spinoff TV series The Mandalorian, where he plays the intergalactic bounty hunter Din Djarin.

Since then, he's been cast in a number of high-profile sci-fi projects, ranging across a variety of genres on screens both big and small. This includes HBO's TV adaptation of The Last of Us video game, where he starred as the rugged zombie apocalypse survivor Joel. Additionally, he now has a major role in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, portraying Reed Richards as part of The Fantastic Four. His next big screen film is Avengers: Doomsday, where he's expected to have a significant role.

But Pascal is also no stranger to smaller roles, from a recurring capacity in Graceland during its first two seasons, to his upcoming drama movie Behemoth! However, while these particular films fall outside the scope of sci-fi, he's taken on smaller roles in the genre as well. One such forgotten movie released in 2018 is now free to watch on YouTube, and combines elements of both Star Wars and True Grit to create something unique.

Prospect Is An Overlooked Pedro Pascal Sci-Fi Western

Combining elements of both sci-fi and Western movies, Prospect is a forgotten Pascal movie that's gone overlooked in his film catalog. Released in 2018, the movie primarily follows a teenage girl named Cee, played by Sophie Thatcher, and her father, Damon, portrayed by Jay Duplass. The story follows the pair as they land on a dangerous, poisoned forest moon to mine for gems within the lifeforms on the moon. However, they run into trouble when they meet Ezra, played by Pascal, a rival prospector. As more enemies gather, the pair are forced to contend with ever-changing threats.

Prospect was Thatcher's feature film debut. She would go on to play Natalie in Yellowjackets and Drash in Star Wars: The Book of Boba Fett.

Prospect reviews were positive upon the film's release, with the movie currently holding a Certified Fresh 89% on Rotten Tomatoes based on 54 reviews. This is for good reason, as the movie's sci-fi setting doesn't take away from the character development that defines many of its core scenes and story beats. It's also been praised for its performances, with Pascal, Thatcher, and Duplass in particular earning significant note from critics who say their characters are the crux of the movie.

It helps that, instead of just being a sci-fi film, it's also heavily inspired by Westerns in its approach. The movie doesn't try to stay defined into one genre, utilizing elements of various subgenres to evoke different feelings and story elements. It makes the film unique, while also delivering a story that flew under the radar, despite how strong its approach ends up being.

Prospect Proved Pedro Pascal Was Perfect For The Mandalorian

Pascal's character in Prospect, Ezra, is introduced as a rival prospector, who at first seems like he's going to be a no-nonsense antagonist. However, over the course of the story, he becomes an ally, especially for Cee as she's forced to navigate her father's world of prospecting for precious gems. This relationship feels like a precursor to The Mandalorian, as it proves how well Pascal can portray a character who seemingly has a small heart, but, in reality, is much more than meets the eye.

Since Prospect is available to watch for free on YouTube, now is the perfect time to see Pascal's unsung sci-fi masterpiece. The movie's lack of recognition when it came out means it can still earn some additional viewership long after the fact, with its lead actor delivering an impressive performance that helped lay the groundwork for the rest of his sci-fi career.