Joker actor Joaquin Phoenix has officially dropped out of Todd Haynes’ untitled romance film, which led to a production halt.
Todd Haynes’ untitled gay romance film appears to be drawing its curtains as its star Joaquin Phoenix is leaving production. Rumors that the film was falling apart have been circulating for some time, although Phoenix apparently left the set two weeks ago. Danny Ramirez (Top Shooter: Maverick, On my block, The Falcon and the Winter Soldier) starred in the film alongside Phoenix, but without the Beau is afraid Haynes’ film is all but doomed to failure as far as the actor is concerned.
Sources say there are no plans to recast Phoenix’s role and crew members are owed money. Phoenix reportedly left the project before San Diego Comic-Con got underway, and although Ramirez was at the convention, he didn’t know if he would return to work afterward.
Haynes’ film centers on two men who are intense lovers and leave California for Mexico. The reason for Phoenix’s exit is unclear, but some have wondered if the project’s intimate and explicit content played a role. Phoenix is known for fully committing to any role he takes on, but Haynes’ plans could have gone too far.
Phoenix fans can look forward to the actor bringing hell to Arkham Asylum when he and Lady Gaga star in Joker: Foil A Deuxthe highly anticipated sequel to Todd Phillips’ billion-dollar blockbuster, joker. Early reactions to Folie À Deux describe the film as a unique mix of drama, musical and violence.
In a social media post in March GoldDerby reveals what it says about Joker: Foil for Twoincluding Lady Gaga’s “transformative” performance as Harley Quinzel, the film’s musical elements, and how Phillips’ upcoming film plays with DC lore and takes advantage of the Elseworlds aspect of the setup.
“Parts are messy for a reason,” GoldDerby published online. “Parts are surrealist for good reason (and shot at least partially in black and white), parts are gory (the chaotic part). I can’t say how exactly. It’s also very political, as you’d expect from the Joker series. The person I spoke to was mightily impressed, but beware, that’s just an opinion.”
The article continues: “Gaga is actually on par with Phoenix or even more central. There’s no way to cheat her in her supporting role. From what I understand, he doesn’t call her Harley but has a nickname derived from it. I guess that’s caused confusion as to whether she’s playing Harley or not (she is). They both perform songs as a duel and some are just her singing. The songs are a mix of old and new songs. Old ones are sand in one part of the film, new/original ones in another. It’s not just a singing film. Famous characters are in it. Some changes to the lore as these films are standalone films of certain other DC franchises.”
There’s no telling if Todd Haynes’ untitled romance film will go back into production. We’ll keep an eye out for updates.
Source:
https://deadline.com/2024/08/joaquin-phoenix-exits-todd-haynes-movie-1236035685/
