Gotham‘s upcoming fifth and final season is going to give us everything fans have been wanting to see since the DC prequel series began. At least, that’s what Jim Gordon himself, Ben McKenzie, has promised us. And from what we know about the new run so far, it doesn’t look like he’s lying.
For one, the character arc of Oswald Cobblepot across the four seasons to date has been one of the best of the whole show, with Robin Lord Taylor’s younger take on the classic Batman villain becoming a fan favorite. We’ve watched him go from Fish Mooney’s lackey to a fearsome crime boss in his own right, but we’ve yet to see him match up to the traditional depiction of the Penguin. However, that’s going to change in season 5.
Lord Taylor has previously teased that he’ll be donning a fatsuit in the new run to achieve the Penguin’s typical rotund frame, and we now also know for sure that the character’s signature top hat will put in an appearance, too. The actor shared a shot of the headgear on top of a chair labelled Penguin on his Instagram account and let’s just say you don’t need to be the Riddler to work out what he’s trying to tell us.
Given that the Penguin will be piling on the pounds and donning a top hat in season 5, it’s likely he’ll also start wearing a monocle and develop a taste for smoking through a cigarette holder. Don’t expect these developments to come in right away, though. It’s likely the Penguin won’t be fully-formed until the series finale, which will fast forward 10 years into the future and give us the long-awaited debut of Batman, in full costume.
There’s not too long to go now until Gotham season 5 – subtitled “Legend of the Dark Knight” – premieres on FOX, as it arrives on January 3rd, and as soon as we learn more, we’ll be sure to let you know.
