From the very first scenes of “Joker," New Jersey has a starring role alongside the man himself, Joaquin Phoenix.

The new movie, directed by Todd Phillips (“The Hangover, “War Dogs”), opens on Thursday, Oct. 3. “Joker” is set in 1981 and constructs a different origin story for the classic Batman villain, one set apart from many of the conventions of the DC Comics universe. At a time when mass shootings constantly fill headlines, the film has drawn controversy for its dark journey inside the mind of a homicidal villain in the making.

It’s easy to become so transfixed by Phoenix’s performance as a beat-down, pushed-around clown in metamorphosis to a killer and symbol of Gotham’s discontent that you breeze past the local scenes without much notice. However, Jersey cityscapes in the film lend much to the rough image of Batman’s home city (is it ever anything else?), which is in the middle of a garbage strike and much social upheaval.

Just after the opening scenes of the film, when we are introduced to Phoenix’s character as he is putting on his face paint, the first major action of the movie takes place on Newark’s Market Street.

Joaquin Phoenix as Arthur Fleck in "Joker," which was partially filmed on Newark's Market Street.Niko Tavernise | Warner Bros.

Minutes into the film, (minor spoiler) Phoenix, who plays aspiring comedian Arthur Fleck, is working a job as a clown tasked with holding an “EVERYTHING MUST GO!!” sign outside of a store.

You may be otherwise occupied watching Fleck get jumped by some teenagers who take his sign, but look around and you’ll spy the very recognizable “NEWARK” marquee for the old Paramount Theater, which was built in 1886 as a vaudeville house called H.C. Miner’s Newark Theatre and closed in 1986. In the movie, the sign is adjusted to say “NEWART,” this being Gotham City and all.

For the street scenes, filmed in October of 2018, Market Street stores were reimagined as early ’80s storefronts and pornography theaters. The NEWART was no exception, carrying a sign for “Strip Search.” Trash bags are piled high on the sidewalk because of the garbage strike.

Joaquin Phoenix's Arthur Fleck gets jumped by some teenagers early in the film. Storefronts were transformed to have an early '80s look. Some became pornography theaters.Niko Tavernise | Warner Bros.

“Joker” also stars Zazie Beetz (“Atlanta," “Deadpool 2”), Frances Conroy (“American Horror Story,” “Six Feet Under”), Robert De Niro and Marc Maron (“GLOW”), who grew up in Wayne.

Executive producer Michael Uslan is a Jersey City native who grew up in Ocean Township, immersed in comic books. In 1979, he bought the film rights to Batman from DC Comics with his partner, Benjamin Melniker of Bayonne. Uslan, who lives in Cedar Grove, has been an executive producer of every Batman movie since 1989.

This isn’t the first time a Batman-universe movie has been filmed in New Jersey. The 2012 Christopher Nolan film “The Dark Knight Rises," starring Christian Bale and Millburn’s Anne Hathaway, also borrowed from Newark to construct its Gotham City.

Filming in Newark took place in October of 2018. The marquee of Newark's old Paramount Theater can be seen in "Joker," only it's been adjusted in the film to say "NEWART."Aristide Economopoulos | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com

In August, the New Jersey Economic Development Authority approved $2 million in film tax credits for “Joker." The reported budget for the film was about $55 million. The movie was also filmed in various parts of New York.

Newark isn’t the only local city in the movie. A night scene depicting a large crowd at a rally outside Wayne Hall, seen much further into the two-hour drama, was filmed at Jersey City’s William J. Brennan Courthouse.

The Newark Avenue building fills the entire frame in the movie, its columns and long windows serving as the stately backdrop for a screening of Charlie Chaplin’s 1936 film “Modern Times" attended by businessman and mayoral candidate Thomas Wayne (father to Bruce Wayne, aka future Batman).

"Joker" also filmed a rally scene at the William J. Brennan Courthouse on Newark Avenue in Jersey City, which became Wayne Hall. Warner Bros.

In the scene, also filmed in September of 2018, (slight spoiler) people of Gotham, wearing clown masks and face paint, protest Thomas Wayne.

Here, Wayne serves as a symbol of wealth and authority, someone who is trying to play a fatherly role to the downtrodden. The “clowns” at the rally are driven to topple and condemn the patrician figure.

(We won’t spoil any of the action that happens inside the hall.)

Last fall, background actors assembled on Newark Avenue to film the scene. Posted nearby were Gotham City police officers, on the street, in cars and on horseback (and Jersey City police officers, watching the drama unfold).

Background actors wearing face paint filmed "Joker" in Jersey City last fall.Joe Atmonavage | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com

Without giving too much away, the “Joker” returns to Newark for pivotal scenes in the final action in the movie, during the last 15 minutes or so.

A sign for Halsey Street even made it into the film. During a riot scene lasting several minutes, which was again filmed at night, you can also see a sign for the real-life store Dr. Jay’s, near the intersection of Halsey and Market streets.

As part of the set design, a 7-Eleven in Newark was converted into a luncheonette, which is visible during the riot.

In this part (spoiler, though not if you know Batman’s origin story), Jersey City’s Loew’s Jersey Theatre, in Journal Square, stands in for a Gotham movie theater where Bruce Wayne watches his parents meet their fate.

A 1981 Gotham City police car on set in Jersey City.Joe Atmonavage | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com

For "Joker," the outside of a 7-Eleven in Newark was converted into a luncheonette and fake graffiti was painted outside.Aristide Economopoulos | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com

Have a tip? Amy Kuperinsky may be reached at akuperinsky@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @AmyKup or on Facebook.

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