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Actor Joaquin Phoenix and director Todd Haynes have never shied away from controversial material. Joker, for which Phoenix won a Best Actor Oscar, was both praised and criticized for its depiction of mental illness. Haynes’ May December dealt with an illicit relationship between an adult and a teenage boy. But it seems that whatever was planned for Haynes’ upcoming gay romance movie was a bridge too far for Phoenix, 49, who exited the project five days before it was set to begin filming.
According to an interview Haynes gave to Variety last year, the untitled film is a “love story between two men set in the ’30s that has explicit sexual content.” Haynes also said that the relationship between the two leads, intended to be played by Phoenix and Danny Ramirez, would “challenge” viewers. According to IndieWire, the film is a detective story about two gay men who flee to Mexico.
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Many film fans are confused by Phoenix’s departure, as according to Haynes and to producer Christine Vachon, Phoenix was the one who initially created the idea for the project. The crew had already been assembled in Jalisco, Mexico when Phoenix called from Los Angeles to say he would not be moving forward. Producers, crew members, and others involved with the film have yet to be compensated for their work, and sources have told Variety and IndieWire that Phoenix is unlikely to be recast. Apparently, most of the film’s financing hinged on Phoenix’s casting.
During press for May December, Haynes had spoken about Phoenix’s enthusiasm for the boundary-pushing project and the actor’s “desire to push through barriers and to really get into the uncomfortable places about this relationship. And yet it felt like a very organic process.” His decision to leave remains a mystery, although one source suggested to Variety that the actor simply got “cold feet” about what would have been his first gay role on screen.