After his ill-fated faux-documentary project, I’m Still Here, which saw him ‘retire’ from acting, Joaquin Phoenix is back in the business and according to Variety, is now in talks to join Paul Thomas Anderson’s long-gestating religious project (formerly titled The Master), a movie that’s had massive funding problems, but now seems to be on a more secure financial footing.
The story revolves around a religion that closely resembles Scientology. Philip Seymour Hoffman will play Lancaster Dodd, the leader of this new religious group who is simply called “The Master”. He reaches out to Freddie Sutton (Joaquin Phoenix), an alcoholic nomad who steadily rises to become The Master’s second in command. However, Freddie starts to question the motives of his new leader. Jeremy Renner was pevisouly attached to Phoenix’s role, but has since left the project.
Phoenix hasn’t landed a feature role since his ‘retirement,’ although he has been in contention for roles in Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter, J. Edgar, and Akira. No deals have been made for any of those projects, so it seems this untitled Paul Thomas Anderson project may very well be Joaquin Phoenix’s next movie – assuming Anderson doesn’t make Inherent Vice first, the Thomas Pynchon adaptation he’s also working on.