On October 4th, The Warner Bros. movie Joker will bring Gotham back to life again, starring Joaquin Phoenix in a dark turn for which he is already getting rave reviews. While the usual cast of DC Comics characters return for this oft-explored story, Joker is at its core, as described by Warner Bros. a “gritty, allegorical character study.” In this version, Arthur Fleck (aka the Joker) wears two masks: one as a clown for work, and one as a misunderstood, fragile outcast. He moves about Gotham riding “the graffitied mass transit rails of a hostile town teeming with division and dissatisfaction” until he reaches a breaking point. As avid trackers of New York City filming locations, we were excited to see many unique places shown in the first two trailers released so far (and that it is actually shot in New York City and surroundings!).

1. Arkham State Hospital

The television show Gotham used the somewhat abandoned Bayley Seton Hospital on Staten Island, spruced up through CGI, as the setting for Arkham Asylum, but Joker uses Brooklyn Army Terminal. As seen in the trailer, Joker walks up to the arches you see above, over railroad tracks that are still in use for freight. The words Arkham State Hospital have been added by CGI.

Interior scenes appear to be filmed at Metropolitan Hospital in East Harlem, which is also shown in an aerial shot at the opening of the teaser trailer. Metropolitan Hospital’s interior hallways were also a film set for the television show New Amsterdam.