A few weeks ago, Joaquin Phoenix suddenly pulled out of a Todd Haynes-directed film which was already deep into pre-production. Joaquin pulled out just a few days before he was due on set to begin principal filming. It is an especially crazy thing to do, even more so considering the fact that Joaquin brought the story and concept to Haynes and they developed it together. The story is something like “a closeted gay detective story” and it’s a period piece and the love story was supposed to be very explicit. Joaquin’s sudden withdrawal has left Haynes in an awful spot, not to mention the production companies which already invested millions. The Hollywood Reporter has already done some reporting about the studio/executive outrage over Phoenix screwing over Haynes and the film. Now THR asks: “Can Joaquin Phoenix Be Replaced, or Is Todd Haynes’ Gay Love Story Doomed?”

Joaquin Phoenix has pulled this sort of stunt before. In 2019, he tried to back out of The Joker at the last minute. He did it again in 2021, with Mike Mills’ C’mon C’mon, and again in 2023, with Ridley Scott’s Napoleon. But in those cases, Phoenix ultimately settled down and the movies ended up getting made. Which raises an obvious question: Is there any way the explicit Todd Haynes gay love story that Phoenix supposedly got cold feet over and abruptly exited Aug. 9 — just five days before shooting was scheduled to begin in Guadalajara, Mexico, where sets were already being built and crews were waiting for the Oscar-winning actor to arrive — might somehow also end up getting made?

Rambling Reporter has been hearing all sorts of rumors about eleventh-hour attempts to salvage the untitled project, including reports that Haynes had been contemplating recasting Phoenix’s part. Pedro Pascal’s name has been bandied about, though sources tell THR he’d be an unlikely choice given that Pascal’s schedule is packed until the end of the year with Fantastic Four and The Mandalorian shoots and also because Haynes had already cast Top Gun: Maverick‘s Danny Ramirez as Phoenix’s love interest in the film, which centers on a corrupt L.A. cop in the 1930s who has a torrid affair with a nonwhite male character. “Having two Latinos in the roles doesn’t make a lot of sense,” one talent rep tells THR.

Meanwhile, Rambling hears that Haynes’ producers have been considering hitting Phoenix with a lawsuit to cover lost costs, said to amount to several million dollars. Might that entice Phoenix back to the set? Anything is possible, but it’s unlikely, given that money doesn’t appear to be a problem for the actor these days; he got paid $25 million for the Joker sequel, Joker: Folie à Deux, which bows at the Venice Film Festival in September.

[From THR]

As I said weeks ago, the reason why there’s not more full-throated, on-the-record backlash against Joaquin right now is because Joker: Folie à Deux is coming out soon. Studios are waiting to see if that film is successful with the powerful neckbeard incel demographic before they completely write off Joaquin. It’s crazy that no one has sued him yet, which makes me wonder if Haynes does feel like there’s a shot at getting Joaquin to change his mind. But it’s also been weeks since he exited – are they still waiting around in Mexico? As for recasting the role… I get that there’s a Hollywood hive-mind and that currently, everyone wants to hire Pedro Pascal for every role, but there are other actors around? It’s completely f–king weird to be like “We should recast this, is Pedro available? Oh, he’s not, well, nevermind.” And of course this all would have played out differently if a woman had pulled this kind of stunt.

Photos courtesy of Avalon Red.