Though it began life as a series showcasing Ben McKenzie’s young Jim Gordon, the big draw for Gotham has become watching as Batman’s rogues gallery begins to take shape.
Over the three seasons that have aired so far, we’ve met proto-versions of everyone from the Penguin to the Riddler to Mr. Freeze. Probably the most acclaimed, though, is the very Joker-like Jerome Valeska, brilliantly played by Cameron Monaghan. It seems likely that this crazy teen will go on to be the Clown Prince of Crime, but will we see him become the white-faced, green-haired killer in the show itself?
Speaking to ComicBook.com, David Mazouz – who plays Bruce Wayne – said that he believes we’ll see the Joker turn up eventually. Just as Bruce is destined to don a pointy-eared cowl at some point, the Joker also has to figure into Gotham‘s future somehow, right?
“I feel like we have to by the end of the show. I hope that when the ending of the show is near our writers will know that, and will be able to put final characters, and not just the Joker, but of everybody… I feel like we’re, the show is leading up to a certain point. It’s leading up to the penguin.
It’s leading up to the Riddler. It’s leading up to Batman. It’s leading up to Commissioner Gordon, and I feel like, I really hope that we’ll be able to see our versions of those characters be full blown, those characters before the show ends, and I feel like the Joker is one of those characters that really, really is crucial to the Batman lore. I think I’d be comfortable saying that he is the most important character after Batman in the Batman lore.”
Noticeably, Mazouz doesn’t say that Jerome will go onto become the villain, which fits in with the ambiguity over the character’s future. Is he destined to fall into a vat of chemicals? Or will the eventual Joker just be inspired by Jerome’s antics? I guess we’ll have to keep tuning in to find out.
Gotham season 4 arrives on Fox this fall.