Carol director casts Joaquin Phoenix and Danny Ramirez as lovers in new gay drama

Joaquin Phoenix and Danny Ramirez are set to play a couple in a new film from Todd Haynes.

According to Deadline, the untitled detective drama will follow the duo, who are described as “intense lovers”, as they “leave California for Mexico”.

Haynes memorably directed Carol (2015), starring Cate Blanchett and Rooney Mara, which is widely considered to be one of the greatest LGBTQIA+ films in history.

He later received acclaim for directing May December (2023), a dark comedy-drama with Natalie Portman, Julianne Moore and Charles Melton. While not explicitly queer, it was praised for its homoerotic themes.

Phoenix, who memorably won an Academy Award for Best Actor for his role as the title character in Joker (2019), boasts credits such as Gladiator (2000), Walk the Line (2005), Her (2013) and Beau is Afraid (2023).

The star will reprise his role as The Joker/Arthur Fleck in the sequel, released 2 October. Subtitled Foliè a Deux, the musical romance slash thriller also stars Lady Gaga as Harley Quinn.

Phoenix’s co-star in Haynes’ upcoming film, Ramirez, rose to fame as Wes in The Gifted (2017) and Mario in On My Block (2018).

He came to worldwide attention as Joaquin Torres in the Marvel Cinematic Universe series The Falcon and the Winter Soldier (2021), a role he is set to reprise in the 2025 blockbuster Captain America: Brave New World. 

In 2022, Ramirez played Lieutenant Mickey “Fanboy” Garcia in Top Gun: Maverick, which grossed almost 1.5 billion at the worldwide box office. The following year, he guest starred in Black Mirror as Hector and The Last of Us as Danny.

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