Pedro Pascal Joins Todd Haynes' De Noche After Joaquin Phoenix Exit

Pedro Pascal has signed to star in Todd Haynes' drama De Noche, taking the role Joaquin Phoenix had been set to play before Phoenix pulled out of the movie shortly before shooting was set to begin in 2024. The film follows a Los Angeles police officer (Pascal) who has a passionate and unexpected affair with a younger boarding school teacher (Danny Ramirez) in the 1930s, and who, after becoming a target of the city's corrupt political machine, are forced to flee to Mexico.

Todd Haynes described the project as arising from an era "— all too relevant to our own — of domestic corruption, racial exploitation and global terror," and as "a testament to the inexplicable powers of desire and love to survive and overcome even the most crippling of human barriers." Producer Christine Vachon called Phoenix's departure "a nightmare," and French indie MK2 Films has stepped in to provide financing and handle international sales.

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