It looks like the queer romance film, De Noche, from Todd Haynes is back in pre-production with a new leading man, Pedro Pascal. The highly in-demand actor will be filling the role that was left vacant after Joaquin Phoenix allegedly didn’t show up to set for the first two weeks and forced producers to pull the plug. Reasons for his departure have never been revealed, but it left the production (which was prepping a principal photography shoot in Mexico) with no option but to shut down production.
According to insider sources, with Pascal signing on to the project, production is looking to get underway in early 2026 in Guadalajara, Mexico. De Noche is being described as a gay love story set in the 1930s that will follow two men who fall in love and leave the United States for Mexico. Killer Films is producing the project. They already worked with Pascal this year on the A24 romantic dramedy Materialists.
This news comes as a welcome surprise for a project once considered abandoned, especially after Joaquin Phoenix’s sudden departure. Producer Christine Vachon publicly credited Phoenix with bringing the idea to Killer Films, a production company known for its commitment to LGBTQ narratives. However, the reasons behind his exit from De Noche were never clearly explained. Speaking at the San Sebastian Film Festival last year, Vachon dismissed the speculation and instead expressed her sadness that the Todd Haynes film fell apart, calling its breakdown a “tragedy.”
Pascal will be coming off another stellar year that saw him make his Marvel debut in The Fantastic Four: First Steps and earn an Emmy nomination for The Last of Us season 2. Easily one of the biggest stars of the screen right now, it would take someone of his caliber to resurrect this project.
Haynes has been pretty quiet since his critically lauded psycho-sexual thriller May December, but he is no stranger to queer stories. He directed Cate Blanchett and Rooney Mara for their Oscar-nominated performances in Carol (2015), which also earned nominations for Best Adapted Screenplay, Cinematography, and Costume Design. In the film, Blanchett and Mara develop a lesbian romance while navigating 1950s New York City around the holiday season.
Christine Vachon shares a long-standing creative partnership with Todd Haynes, having produced much of the Oscar-nominated director’s body of work from his 1991 debut, Poison, to acclaimed titles such as Safe (1995), Velvet Goldmine (1998), Far From Heaven (2002), I’m Not There (2007), and Carol (2015).
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