The fall finale episode of Gotham Season 4 brought back supposedly-not-the-joker-but-come-on-already character Jerome Valeska (Cameron Monaghan) to share a cell in Arkham with Penguin and make a lot of Joker references. But he’s not the Joker. Supposedly. And now two cast members continue to suggest the character’s not the Joker, while one of the cast members suggests he already knows how the real Joker is soon being introduced.
David Mazouz (who plays Bruce Wayne) told the Discussing Film podcast this week, regarding Jerome, “He’s not the Joker, that’s all I’m saying. He’s definitely the inspiration for the Joker and the way that the Joker comes into the show is one of the most brilliant things Gotham has ever done.”
It’s worth noting Mazouz previously said Harley Quinn was going to be in the Season 3 finale, which ended up being incorrect. Executive producer John Stephens later apologized for the confusion, saying “we’re never going to see Harley Quinn. Sorry about that.” On the other hand, what Mazouz said this week lines up with what co-executive producer Bryan Wynbrandt has said: “Jerome is our homage. He’s obviously not the Joker himself, although we clearly seems to be the impetus that eventually creates the Joker.” (The full quote from Wynbrandt is at Comic Book.)
Meanwhile, Cameron Monaghan, who plays Jerome, tweeted then deleted a confirmation of Mazouz’s podcast appearance, saying, “I can confirm. What we’ve cooked up and discussed is something not to be missed. It’s a twist on familiar themes, both new and old echoes of the mythos. Something entirely new, but we believe true to the spirit of the show as well as the comics. Proud I got to be a part of it.”
We’re assuming whatever they’ve cooked up for the Joker will be left as a cliffhanger for the not-yet-officially-greenlit fifth season. Gotham is one season away from having enough episodes for syndication, so getting that fifth season made is a big priority. Working in Gotham‘s favor, surprisingly, is the Disney buyout of Fox. Gotham is one of a small handful of shows on FOX that isn’t owned by 20th Century FOX, meaning Disney won’t have it, and FOX will likely cling to any original content Disney can’t control.
There’s a promo video for Season 4 episode 12 above. In addition to all the Joker references, it also teases the return of Ra’s al Ghul (Alexander Siddig), because nobody really dies in Gotham. The video and Gotham‘s official Twitter announced Season 4 picks up again on Thursday, March 1st on FOX.
Strap in because #Gotham RETURNS on March 1! 🤡🤡🤡 pic.twitter.com/Rt57HxSiu7
— Gotham (@Gotham) January 25, 2018
Clown emojis? That’s like the DCU equivalent of texting eggplant emojis. Promises promises.
(Via Coming Soon, Comic Book, Screen Rant, Discussing Film, and Gotham)