Pablo Escobar - Popular Depiction

Popular Depiction

Two major feature films on the Colombian drug lord, Escobar and Killing Pablo, were announced in 2007, around the same time. Escobar has been delayed due to producer Oliver Stone's involvement with the George W. Bush biopic W. The date of Escobar’s release is still unconfirmed. Regarding the film, producer Oliver Stone said "This is a great project about a fascinating man who took on the system. I think I have to thank Scarface, and maybe even Ari Gold."

Killing Pablo, in development for several years and directed by Joe Carnahan, is based on Mark Bowden’s book Killing Pablo: The Hunt for the World's Greatest Outlaw. The plot tells the story of how Escobar was killed and his cartel dismantled by US special forces and intelligence, the Colombian military and Los Pepes, controlled by the Cali cartel. The cast was reported to include Christian Bale as Major Steve Jacoby and Venezuelan actor Édgar Ramírez as Escobar. In December 2008, Bob Yari, producer of Killing Pablo, filed for bankruptcy.

Escobar has been portrayed in several films already. Played by Cliff Curtis, he is depicted in the 2001 George Jung biopic Blow. In the HBO television series Entourage, actor Vincent Chase (played by Adrian Grenier) plays Escobar in a fictional film entitled Medellin.

Escobar has also been the subject of several books, including photographer James Mollison's book The Memory of Pablo Escobar, which tells Pablo's story with over 350 photographs and documents. Gabriel García Márquez' book, News of a Kidnapping, details the series of abductions that Escobar masterminded to pressure the then Colombian government into guaranteeing him non-extradition if he turned himself in.

In the 2010 ESPN broadcast 30 for 30, a series of sports-themed documentaries timed to coincide with the 30th anniversary of the Entertainment and Sports Network. The Two Escobars by directors Jeff and Michael Zimbalist looked back at Colombia's World Cup run in 1994 and the relationship of sports and the country's criminal gangs—notably the Medellín narcotics cartel run by Escobar. The other Escobar in the film title refers to former Colombian National Team defender Andrés Escobar (no relation to Pablo), who was shot and killed one month after an own goal that cost Colombia in the 1994 FIFA World Cup.

The 2008 film Pablo, Angel o Demonio (English title: Pablo of Medellin) by Jorge Granier explores the mixed legacy of a man hailed in the Barrio as a saint while despised elsewhere as a demon. It is the highest grossing documentary of all time in Colombia.

In 2010 ZORBA began Pablo Escobar tours in Medellín to cater for the hundreds of tourists who visit his grave each year.

In a popular 2002 video game, Grand Theft Auto: Vice City, the airport is named "Escobar International Airport" after Pablo Escobar.

In the 2009 on-rails shooter game, Resident Evil: The Darkside Chronicles, the main antagonist, Javier Hidalgo, seems to based on Pablo Escobar. Both were drug lords, both of them possessed a personal militia, and both also had "mini" zoo of exotic animals. Pablo had a collection of African animals and Javier had a "collection" of B.O.Ws (Bio Organic Weapons), and both of them had the population under their control and both shared the same fate (both of them were killed by US special forces). Both had a daughter called Manuela.

Caracol TV produced a television series, Pablo Escobar: El Patrón del Mal (Pablo Escobar, The Boss Of Evil), which broadcasts since 28 May 2012 and starring Andrés Parra as Pablo Escobar.

In the 2009 episode of NCIS "Deliverance", it is implied that NCIS Special Agent Leroy Jethro Gibbs killed a Colombian drug lord in 1992–1993, and was wounded in Colombia. It is not mentioned that this drug lord was Escobar, but it is strongly implied that it was either the killing of Escobar, or a similar situation.

Mexican-American Grindcore Metal Band Brujeria in their second album Raza Odiada, included a song called "El Patron", inspired in Escobar. Brazilian-American band Soulfly, also wrote a song about him in their 2012 album Enslaved titled "Plata o Plomo".