For the past few seasons, Gotham actor Cameron Monaghan has played many versions of a character who is basically the show’s version of the iconic Batman villain the Joker. For whatever reason, however, the showrunners have refrained from referring to the budding antagonist by his comic book-given name. Instead, Jerome (then Jeremiah) Valeska has operated in a manner that is recognizably Joker-like but without the name itself. According to Entertainment Weekly and a new teaser, however, that’s all about to change.
As EW notes, the “Fox drama has long hamstrung by DC’s rules governing the TV show’s usage of its iconic big-screen characters.” (In other words, one of the odder aspects of the licensing agreement between DC Comics and Fox is that certain names for certain characters cannot be used. It’s weird but legally sound.) But as Monaghan teased back in January, Gotham‘s final season had another transformation in store for his non-Joker character. And following his most recent appearance in the episode “Ace Chemicals,” it seems we’re due for said transformation.
Hence the “J” teaser, which teases a new incarnation of Jeremiah that is heavily scarred and a few years older. Per the promo’s logline, something “new” and “beautiful” is coming to the Gotham series finale. “The character I most enjoyed playing is the one in the final episode that we haven’t seen yet,” Monaghan told EW previously. “When you have an episode that’s a full-on Batman episode running around in the future, you’re going to have characters that you’ll expect to see.”
EW posted a brand new photo of “J,” while Monaghan published another on his official Instagram page.
https://www.instagram.com/cameronmonaghan/p/BvuamUfnTgS/
(Via Entertainment Weekly)