We’ve got a few new photos to share with you from director Todd Phillips’ Joker: Folie À Deux, and they put the spotlight on Arthur Fleck (Joaquin Phoenix) and Harley Quinn (Lady Gaga) in court, a possible breakout from Arkham Asylum, and more.

In the film, Arthur Fleck is institutionalized at Arkham awaiting trial for his crimes as Joker. While struggling with his dual identity, Arthur not only stumbles upon true love, but also finds the music that’s always been inside him.

Arthur forms a strong relationship with Quinn and together they embark on a journey filled with violence and music.

Phoenix talked about what inspired him to make the sequel saying: “It’s the only way that I can do any movie. If it doesn’t feel like it’s dangerous, if there’s not a good chance that you’re gonna fail spectacularly then… what’s the point?”

Phillips added: “That was literally the reason to do it. The only reason Joaquin would even do a sequel is if it felt frightening to him. One thing he really got off on in the first movie was this fear, every day, this nauseous fear of like, ‘What are we fucking doing?’

“He did not want it to be easy. And he wanted to feel as scared on this one. He goes, ‘Well, if I’m gonna do it, I just want to feel that it could not work.”

Phillips goes on to say that he doesn’t see this movie as a sequel, saying: “I don’t think of it as a sequel. Hangover 2 was a sequel. So often a sequel is more of the same, just bigger.

“Of course [Folie À Deux] is a sequel, but it felt like we were making something entirely different. It’s tonally and inherently something way more different.

“The first one subverted the expectations of what it was. So how do you do that again? I always said, early on, the film should feel as if it was made by crazy people. Like the inmates are running the asylum.

“It does feel like a big swing. You just go, ‘Well, f-ck it. Why not? What are we all doing here, if not to do that?’”

The movie also stars Zazie Beetz as Sophie Dumond, with Catherine Keener, Jacob Lofland, and Brendan Gleeson who will be playing undisclosed characters.

Joker: Folie á Deux is scheduled for release on October 4, 2024.