An actor who was set to star alongside Joaquin Phoenix in a gay romance movie has spoken out after the Hollywood star dropped out at the last minute.
Phoenix was poised to play one half of a gay couple in an untitled film that followed a romance between two men that saw them leave Los Angeles for Mexico in the 1930s.
Danny Ramirez, of Captain America: Brave New World and Top Gun: Maverick, was set to co-star with the Joker favorite, but Phoenix dropped out of the project just five days before filming was set to begin.
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Todd Haynes was brought in to direct the film, which is thought to have been put on pause in the wake of Phoenix's unexpected departure.
Why did Joaquin Phoenix drop out of the movie?
The film was set to be an NC-17 film with 'graphic' sex scenes - something which some believe was the reason Phoenix dropped out.
But this conflicted with reports that it was 49-year-old who actually brought the project to Haynes in the first place.
Haynes himself said the Napoleon star 'was pushing it further into more dangerous territory, sexually'.
However, the exact reason for Phoenix's departure still remains unclear.
What has Joaquin Phoenix said about the movie?
During a Venice International Film Festival press conference, Phoenix was asked about dropping out of the movie.
He said: "Um… I think if I do I would just be sharing my opinion from my perspective, and the other creatives aren't here to say their piece and that just doesn't feel like that would be right, not sure how that would be helpful.
"So, I just don't think I will. Yeah. Thank you."
Danny Ramirez's response to Joaquin Phoenix's departure
Now, Ramirez has spoken out on the actor's decision to leave the project and described it as 'disappointing'.
Speaking to Variety over the weekend, the actor said: "It’s definitely disappointing.
"[...] If anything, it just gave me more inspiration to keep driving, keep pushing, and knowing that I’m on the right path and approaching the work the right way. So that’s what I’m excited about."
Giving an update on where the movie currently stands, Ramirez said it's 'hopefully' still happening.
UNILAD has approached Phoenix's reps for comment.
Away from the controversy surrounding Phoenix's decision to drop out of the film at the last minute, his new movie Joker: Folie à Deux has bombed at the box office and with fans.
It's believed that an eye-watering $200 million was spent on the movie - in addition to $100 million on marketing - for it to make $37.6 million domestically on its opening weekend.
At the time of writing, the sequel to 2019's critically acclaimed Joker has just a 32 percent score on Rotten Tomatoes. Elsewhere it's garnered a 5.3/10 score on IMDb.
One thing that's thought to have disappointed DC Comics fans was the fact that it was a musical.
In the months running up to Joker: Folie à Deux's release, many people questioned why it had taken a musical turn.
Topics: Celebrity, Film and TV, Joaquin Phoenix, LGBTQ
Niamh Shackleton