Mumbai, Sep 20 (IANS): Award-winning actor Joaquin Phoenix said that there was a part of him that was reluctant on going to the next phase with “Joker: Folie a Deux”.

Phoenix said: “Well, I felt everything. There was a part of me that was reluctant. There was something so special about the first experience and I didn't want to taint that in any way, but I also loved the idea of a challenge, the idea of continuing the story but finding different tones to play with.”

“And we started talking about music and the idea of performance really around the time of the…”

The actor said that he doesn't even know if the movie had been released yet or if it had just been released.

“But we started talking about performance, literally a show, like a live show. There was still a lot more to explore, I thought, with the character. I didn't want to give it up. And so I was excited, and I was nervous, and everything one could feel, I think.”

“Joker: Folie à Deux” is a musical psychological thriller film directed by Todd Phillips. It is the sequel to Joker, loosely based on DC Comics characters, and stars Joaquin Phoenix reprising his role as the Joker with Lady Gaga joining the cast as his love interest Harley Quinn.

The film begins after two years of the events, Arthur Fleck, now a patient at Arkham State Hospital, falls in love with fellow inmate Lee. As the two experience musical madness through their linked insanity, Arthur's followers start a movement to liberate him.

The film will be released worldwide by Warner Bros. Pictures, and will be only in Cinemas in India on Wednesday, October 2, 2024 and in IMAX screens on October 4, in English version only.