The Big Picture

• Inside Out 2 introduces a "Belief System" element, providing a deeper emotional journey for teenage Riley.
• Director Dave Holstein worked to make the "Belief System" a driving force in the film.
• Alongside returning emotions, Inside Out 2 will include new characters like Envy, Anxiety, Ennui, and Embarrassment as Riley enters her teenage years.

Pixar Animation Studios is hoping to return to winning form with Inside Out 2, the highly anticipated follow-up to 2015's coming-of-age story Inside Out. The upcoming film will once again feature the voice of Amy Poehler as Joy, one of the main emotions in the head of Riley (Kensington Tallman), and a new image from Empire Magazine shows off Joy as she struggles to confront the reality of Riley turning into a teenager.

The image shows Joy as she looks on wistfully at something off-screen, and holds a globe that allows her to see some of the world around her. Standing behind Joy is Sadness (Phyllis Smith), who, contrary to her name, appears more shocked or confused than sad. While Inside Out featured Riley as an 11 and 12-year-old, Inside Out 2 depicts a now 13-year-old Riley who is learning to adapt to the ways of being a teen. Unlike the first film, Inside Out 2 will feature a new element known as a "Belief System," which writer Dave Holstein described to Empire as "the emotional hit that this movie could give, that the last movie could not." Holstein added:

"Now that Riley's a teenager, she’s starting to develop her own set of beliefs. What if we actually hear Riley say her beliefs in her own voice? If you hear her say, 'I'm kind,' you can hear [in] the performance how she feels about that. Or, 'My parents are proud of me.' On the flip-side, if there’s a belief that’s not so good, you can really hear the emotion of it."

The 'Belief System' is the Driving Force of 'Inside Out 2'

Holstein worked the Belief System back into Inside Out 2's script after it was originally cut, and it soon became one of the driving elements of the film. "Immediately, I was like, 'There’s something I want to see at the beginning of this movie, and possibly the end of this movie, that tells me what the movie is',” Holstein said. "So it was very inspirational for me."

Inside Out 2 will see a number of other returning emotions, including Anger (Lewis Black), Fear (Tony Hale), Disgust (Liza Lapira), and more. New emotions include Envy (Ayo Edebiri), Anxiety (Maya Hawke), Ennui (Adèle Exarchopoulos), and Embarrassment (Paul Walter Hauser). Other cast members include Kyle MacLachlan, Diane Lane, Yvette Nicole Brown, Ron Funches, Bobby Moynihan, James Austin Johnson, and more.

Inside Out 2 was directed by Kelsey Mann in his directorial debut, replacing Pixar Chief Creative Officer Peter Docter, who directed the first film. Mann directs from a script by Holstein and Meg LeFauve. Mark Nielsen produces for Pixar alongside Walt Disney Pictures, while Docter executive produces.

Inside Out 2 will be released in theaters on June 14. The film's new image can be seen above.