After earning some of the finest acclaim of his career for May December, Todd Haynes was all set to embark on a 1930s, Los Angeles-set noir romance back in the summer of 2024. When Joaquin Phoenix got cold feet mere days before production was set to begin, the director had to go back to the drawning board. Thankfully, the project has now officially been resurrected with production set to begin next month in Guadalajara, Mexico.
Variety confirms Pedro Pascal and Danny Ramirez are on board to start in the film, which carries the title De Noche. “This story, with Pedro Pascal and Danny Ramirez in the two leads, arises out of an era—all too relevant to our own—of domestic corruption, racial exploitation, and global terror. But it emerges as a testament to the inexplicable powers of desire and love to survive and overcome even the most crippling of human barriers,” said Haynes.
Scripted by Haynes and Jon Raymond, here’s the synopsis: “The film charts the passionate and unexpected love affair between a cop (Pascal) and a boarding school teacher (Ramirez) in 1930s Los Angeles, when the city is overtaken by corruption and the world is on the brink of war. The two men become targets of the city’s corrupt political machine and are forced to flee to Mexico.”
As we await more details ahead of a likely 2027 premiere, check out a pair of extensive conversations with Haynes from last year.