Images: Getty; Alamy

IT SAYS A LOT ABOUT Pedro Pascal’s heady rise that he’s now in the position to drop cryptic clues on the red carpet about yet another blockbuster role.

At the Fantastic Four: First Steps premiere in Los Angeles on Monday, the actor turned up in a white dinner jacket designed by Tom Ford’s Haider Ackermann, complete with a red carnation. The outfit’s nod to Old Hollywood glamour is obvious. But it turns out there was a more specific reference at play, too.

Image: Rodin Eckenroth

It was Pascal who first alluded to a deeper meaning in a red carpet interview with Extra, saying: “We added a little carnation that hopefully the context of which will be understood.”

Not long after that, Pascal’s stylist, Jamie Mizrahi, cleared things up. She shared some reference shots on Instagram from 1982’s Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom – specifically, Harrison Ford wearing a near-identical jacket and carnation.

Hardly subtle stuff. But in truth, there have been plenty of rumours over the past year that Pascal is in line to play the good doctor in a potential reboot – and many opinions shared over the casting, too.

One person who clearly does want Pedro Pascal to play Indiana Jones is… Pedro Pascal. In 2023, he spoke to BBC Radio 2 about breaking his arm as a kid when he attempted to replicate the character’s derring-do.

“I’d seen Raiders of the Lost Ark, so I tied sheets together. I was trying to scale the side of my house,” he told host Zoe Ball. “They loosened very quickly.”

He discussed the incident in a 2014 chat with Interview magazine, too, saying: “I was so into the Indiana Jones movies and I would constantly reenact circumstances. I broke my left arm three times, two of which were me trying to be Indiana Jones”. The obsessions is as real as it is perilous.

Meanwhile, during the recent press round for The Last of Us, he referenced Indiana Jones as a member of his dream apocalypse team.

There’s been some manifestation at play, most certainly. The question is: was this just a fun little reference to one of his favourite films, or confirmation that he’s finally landed his dream role as Harrison Ford’s successor?

Suffice to say, we’ll be on tux watch for the foreseeable. You can thank us later.

This story originally appeared on Esquire UK.

Related:

All of Pedro Pascal’s best fits

The vital message behind Pedro Pascal’s ‘Protect The Dolls’ T-shirt