Pedro Pascal to the rescue, again. After shepherding Ellie Williams through the emotional wreckage of The Last of Us, Pascal is now stepping in to steady an entirely different kind of endangered project. This time, the stakes are not a fungal apocalypse or broken fatherhood, but a 1930s romance from auteur Todd Haynes that nearly unraveled before cameras even rolled. 

When a prestige project falters this close to production, the reasons are rarely simple, and almost never purely logistical.

It has been reported by Variety that Pedro Pascal will star in De Noche, Todd Haynes’ long-gestating 1930s-set romance that has been in development since 2024. The casting follows Joaquin Phoenix’s abrupt departure from the project just days before filming was scheduled to begin, an exit that sent shockwaves through the production. Phoenix was not merely attached as a performer. 

He had been deeply involved in developing the screenplay alongside Haynes, shaping the material from its earliest stages. Pascal’s involvement, notably, is not a sudden pivot. Deadline reported back in August 2025 that he was circling the role, though talks remained unresolved at the time. That long runway makes this casting feel like a contingency finally activated.

With Pascal now officially in place, in another queer centric story, opposite Danny Ramirez, Haynes framed the film’s scope clearly.

“This story, with Pedro Pascal and Danny Ramirez in the two leads, arises out of an era all too relevant to our own domestic corruption, racial exploitation and global terror.” Todd Haynes said to Variety.

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Interestingly, De Noche also reunites Pascal with a co-star who is exiting one franchise just as decisively as he entered another.

The upcoming The Last of Us season 3 will feature a new Manny. Danny Ramirez has confirmed that he will no longer appear in the series, with the character set to be continued by Jorge Lendeborg Jr. in future seasons.

According to Entertainment Weekly, Lendeborg Jr. best known for his work in the Spider-Man franchise, will step into the role previously played by Ramirez, who portrayed Manny as a member of Abby’s crew in season two. Ramirez’s departure, announced in December, was attributed to scheduling conflicts with another project, now clearly De Noche. His exit coincides with the show’s narrative pivot, as season three shifts perspective to Abby’s storyline.

In the end, Pedro Pascal replacing Joaquin Phoenix is a reminder of how precarious prestige filmmaking can be, and how rare it is for the right actor to arrive at exactly the right moment. 

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Does Pascal’s presence change how you see De Noche’s prospects? Share your thoughts.