Pedro Pascal Was the 'Happy Ending' for Todd Haynes' De Noche, Says Producer Christine Vachon
Pedro Pascal ended up exactly where the makers of De Noche wanted him — and the producer who steered the film through a near-collapse says so plainly. "I think we got the happy ending that we deserved, or that Todd deserved, which is Pedro Pascal ultimately playing the role," Christine Vachon told the Variety Lounge at the Edinburgh International Film Festival on 20 August 2026 (Variety).
The story of how Pascal got there is one of the more dramatic casting reversals in recent independent cinema. De Noche, directed by Todd Haynes, is a gay romance set in 1930s Mexico that Variety has described as a "subversive love story" (Variety). Joaquin Phoenix was originally set to star. He pulled out abruptly, just days before cameras were due to roll (Variety). Production halted, the film's future uncertain.
Pascal's name surfaced quickly. Variety reported in August 2025 that the Last of Us and Gladiator II star was being eyed to replace Phoenix opposite Danny Ramirez in the lead (Variety). By February 2026, the trade confirmed the film would begin shooting the following month with Pascal in the lead, with French sales and distribution company MK2 attached as its partner handling international sales — the business of selling a finished film to distributors territory by territory (Variety). The film was shot last year, Vachon confirmed in Edinburgh (Variety).
What stands out is how little the project itself shifted in the pivot. Vachon said no "drastic" changes were made to De Noche after swapping its leads (Variety). One adjustment was geographic: the production, originally based in Guadalajara, moved to Mexico City after being resurrected (Variety). Vachon also praised both Pascal and Ramirez, telling the Edinburgh audience that Pascal was "born to play" the role (Deadline).
For Vachon, the Edinburgh appearance carried a thread of her own history. She first attended the festival in 1998, when Haynes' Velvet Goldmine opened it (Variety). This time she returned as producer on Tyler-Marie Evans' film Pretty Babies (Variety). Killer Films, the production company she co-founded with Pamela Koffler, marked its 30th anniversary last year — three decades of backing independent cinema that includes a long creative partnership with Haynes himself (Variety).
For audiences, the takeaway is simpler. A Todd Haynes film that nearly fell apart is in the can, with Pedro Pascal and Danny Ramirez leading a 1930s Mexican romance — and a producer who sounds genuinely satisfied with how the pieces landed.
