Todd Haynes' queer drama may not be the first project Joaquin Phoenix has walked out of at the last minute. In fact, The Hollywood Reporter suggests he threatened to do so even on Ridley Scott's period drama Napoleon last year, in which he played the titular role.

Joaquin's demand on Napoleon

The report states, “The actor is indeed known to get cold feet ahead of filming on various projects. Two sources tell THR that he threatened to leave Ridley Scott’s Napoleon unless his The Master filmmaker Paul Thomas Anderson was brought in to do rewrites. Placated, he stayed aboard the project, and it arrived in theatres late last year.”

Written by David Scarpa and directed by Academy Award-winning filmmaker Ridley Scott, Napoleon starred Joaquin as the French ruler and Vanessa Kirby as his wife Josephine. It earned $221 million worldwide and fetched 3 Oscar nominations in technical categories.

Joaquin's recent exit

Oscar winner Joaquin Phoenix's sudden departure from Todd Haynes' upcoming film has led to the project's cancellation. Phoenix dropped out of the queer drama film, about two men in love and fleeing to Mexico, just five days before filming was set to begin in Guadalajara.

The Joker actor reportedly got "cold feet" over the project, for which he had developed the screenplay with Todd and Jon Raymond. Joaquin was scheduled to co-star with Top Gun: Maverick actor Danny Ramirez in the 1930s-set love story featuring "explicit sexual content." The film was intended to receive an NC-17 rating due to its graphic sex scenes. The role will not be recast for the movie.

During the press tour for his 2023 Netflix film May December, director Todd Haynes told IndieWire that Phoenix was the driving force behind the project. "The whole experience was prompted by Joaquin. It was prompted by his daring, his 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," the filmmaker had said.

Joaquin will next feature in Joker: Folie a Deux, the sequel to his 2019 movie Joker, which had earned him a maiden Oscar trophy for best actor. Also starring Lady Gaga, the movie is directed by Todd Phillips and is slated to release in October.

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