On Fox's Batman origin series Gotham, the Dark Knight's ultimate villain, the Joker, has been teased for a very long time. Ever since the series' pilot, which featured a failed and ridiculed comedian, the series has dropped potential characters that could, eventually, become the Joker. But then, the game was changed with the arrival of Cameron Monaghan's Jerome Valeska, a character who embodied all of the chaotic and maniacal aspects of the character.
Since then, viewers have followed along as the story of Jerome saw him become the Joker all but in name -- that is, until the character died just as his twin brother, Jeremiah, swooped in to take his place as Gotham City's most dangerous villain. While Season 4 of Gotham ended with Jeremiah nearing closer and closer to the Joker persona, it appears as if Season 5 will finally see the character become the one and true Clown Prince of Crime.
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On his Instagram page, Monaghan shared a new promotional image of his character, as he will be seen in Season 5. The picture, which features Jeremiah in a purple suit and gloves, sporting green hair and a big smile indicates that the character will finally be allowed to go full-on Joker during the series' final season.
There was a time when it still appeared uncertain if Gotham would ever be allowed to actually feature the Joker on the small screen. When Season 4 was coming to its conclusion last May, Monaghan said that the series wasn't allowed to use the name "Joker" or feature him with green hair. However, that may have now changed. After all, from the picture, we can clearly see that Jeremiah is now sporting green hair -- could the Joker name be far behind?
Even actor David Mazouz, who plays Bruce Wayne on the series, teased as much last summer, when he mentioned that the final season of Gotham would not only see his character fight some of the bigger villains of the series, but that he would also tangle with someone whose name starts with the letter "J."
All will be revealed when Gotham returns for its 12-episode fifth and final season next month.
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Gotham stars Ben McKenzie as James Gordon, Donal Logue as Harvey Bullock, David Mazouz as Bruce Wayne, Robin Lord Taylor as Penguin, Camren Bicondova as Selina Kyle, Erin Richards as Barbara Kean and Sean Pertwee as Alfred Pennyworth. It is scheduled to return on Fox for its fifth and final season on Jan. 3, 2019.