Joaquin Phoenix Deflects Questions About Exiting Todd Haynes' Gay Romance

During a press conference for Joker: Folie à Deux at the Venice Film Festival, Phoenix deflected a question from a reporter who asked about the reason behind his departure from the film.

"I think if I do [speak about the reasoning], I'd just be sharing my opinion from my perspective, and the other creatives aren't here to say their piece, and it just doesn't feel like that would be right," Phoenix, 49, said. "I'm not sure how that would be helpful. So I don't think I will."

Last month, Indiewire reported that Phoenix exited the film days before it was set to begin shooting in Guadalajara, Mexico. The Oscar winner wrote the screenplay with Haynes and Jon Rayman. The untitled detective gay romance was set to star Phoenix and Danny Ramirez as two men who fall in love and flee to Mexico.

Sources told Indiewire that Phoenix is not expected to return to the project, and Killer Films, the production company that has produced all of Haynes' projects, is not trying to recast the role at this time, and its main priority is paying financers, crewmembers, and more who need to be compensated.

During a May 2023 interview with Indiewire, Haynes spoke about Phoenix's commitment to the film, which would have marked his first onscreen gay role.

Joaquin was pushing me further and going ‘No, let’s go further.’ This will be an NC-17 film," he said at the time. "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."

According to Indiewire, Haynes has shifted his focus to his next project, directing the limited series, Trust.

Meanwhile, also during the Joker 2 press conference, Phoenix opened up about undergoing another weight loss transformation while reprising his role as Arthur Fleck in Joker: Folie à Deux.

"I'm not going to talk through specifics of the diet, because I just think nobody wants to hear that," said the star, who previously revealed he lost over 50 pounds for the 2019 film. "But this time, it felt a bit more complicated just because there was so much dance rehearsal that we were doing, which I didn't have last time."

"So it felt a bit more difficult, but it is safe. But you're right, I’m now 49, I probably shouldn’t do this again. This is probably it for me."

He went on to share that his costar, Lady Gaga, also lost weight for the film. "I remember when I first met you in rehearsals and then you went away and when you came back, you lost a lot of weight," Gaga said. "It was really impressive."

Phoenix also claimed he doesn't remember how much weight he dropped for the sequel, before expressing some regret over discussing his dramatic transformation for the role during press tour for the first film.

"I know I was responsible last time for talking about it, but it’s difficult to do so that becomes your obsession because you’re working the entire time to get to a certain weight,” Phoenix said. “So then you end up talking about it, and then it just sounds like an actor going on and on about how much weight they lost. By the end of that run I was so sick of myself and angry at myself for making such a big deal about that part, because you just do what you’re f--king supposed to do. So this time I was like, 'I'm not going to do that.'"

Joker: Folie à Deux hits theaters on October 4.