After Joaquin Phoenix bailed, Pedro Pascal swoops in for Todd Haynes’ 1930s LA noir De Noche, a love story tangled in corruption, desire, and Hollywood drama.
Once again, Pedro Pascal has swooped in to save us and sweep us all off our feet – the actor will take a break from running the MCU as Mr. Fantastic to star in Todd Haynes’ now-resurrected gay romance De Noche.
Yes, this is the same movie that Joaquin Phoenix hastily and randomly exited in December of 2024, just days before filming was set to begin. Guess Joker: Folie à Deux’s mediocre reception affected us all differently that year.
It’s been rumoured since last August that Pascal would be stepping in to salvage Phoenix’s role, but a release from Variety yesterday confirmed it.
Back in 2023, Haynes described the film as “a gay love story set in 1930’s LA”. He has since elaborated, outlining the film as following the love affair between a detective (played by Pascal) and a boarding school teacher (played by Top Gun: Maverick’s Danny Ramirez) who are targeted by the city’s corrupt regime, forcing the pair to escape across the border to Mexico.
De Noche is said to examine “domestic corruption, racial exploitation, and global terror” through a noir lens, in the vein of classics such as Chinatown.
However, Haynes also hopes his film stands as a testament to the “inexplicable powers of desire and love to survive and overcome…”. Considering all the tribulations the film has already overcome in the pre-production stage alone, it’s safe to say it promises a lot of heart.
Haynes wrote the screenplay for De Noche alongside collaborator Jon Haymond, and is also set to direct. Haynes’ most recent venture was 2023’s May December – which received an Oscar nom for Best Original Screenplay, and notably directed lesbian classic Carol back in 2015.
De Noche marks the first time Haynes has directed his own screenplay since his Bob Dylan biopic I’m Not There, released in 2007.
Shooting for De Noche will, finally, commence next month.
