While Gotham managed to fill our television screens with several high-profile members of Batman’s rogues gallery in its first season, it played coy with two of the most beloved: the Joker and Mr. Freeze. Thankfully, that’s going to change next season, as it’s been reported that both villains will be a big focus of the show when it returns in the fall.
The news comes from IGN’s Eric Goldman, who was present during Fox’s upfronts presentation earlier this week:
#Gotham will feature “Exciting new villains like The Joker and Mr. Freeze” in Season 2 we were just told. #Upfronts2015
— Eric Goldman (@TheEricGoldman) May 11, 2015
Showrunner Bruno Heller has long teased the arrival of fan-favorite supervillain Mr. Freeze, so the announcement comes as no real surprise. I am a bit disappointed that we’ll be seeing more of the Joker next year, however. I thought that the small tease of his existence in episode fifteen, “The Blind Fortune Teller,” was expertly handled and all we really needed from the character’s origin. But, alas, people love Mr. J, and he’s sure to bring in a ton of viewers when he gives Jim Gordon and the rest of the GCPD a run for their money next season. Let’s just hope that the show picks up a bit of subtlety that it lacked in its debut run of episodes.
On the plus side, we’ll be seeing a lot more of Morena Baccarin next season, as TV Line reports that she’s been promoted to a series regular. Her character, Dr. Leslie Thompkins, was one of the series’ best late additions and injected a bit of life into Gordon’s story. I’m glad to see that her commitment to the Deadpool film (in which she plays mutant Copycat) won’t keep her from returning to the DC TV universe.
No premiere date has been set yet, but Gotham is expected to air on Fox later this fall.
