Gotham season 5 arrives in January 2019 and, as the last season of the FOX prequel series, it’ll take young Bruce Wayne all the way to becoming Batman. However, arguably the question that plays just as heavily on the minds of the show’s fans is how will Jeremiah Valeska become the Joker? The series has had a long and complicated journey when it comes to explaining the origins of the Clown Prince of Crime, but this new promo teases that “Mr. J” is coming soon.
To mark Halloween, Gotham has released a video which recaps how far Cameron Monaghan’s duo of characters have come on the series so far. At first, we all believed Jerome was the twisted teen destined to become the Joker, but season 4 saw him shockingly killed off, only for him to posthumously drive his twin brother Jeremiah insane. With bleached skin and an affinity for purple clothing, Jeremiah’s now primed to become the Joker.
However, we’re not totally sure if we’ll ever get to hear the J-word in season 5. Monaghan’s previously explained that Warner Bros. is keeping a tight hold on the Joker brand to the extent that the show can’t even give the actor the villain’s distinctive bright green hair. It seems pretty bizarre that Gotham can do what it likes with Batman – the Dark Knight will 100% turn up, in full costume – and not the Joker, but that’s WB’s prerogative.
Instead, Gotham showrunner John Stephens has hinted that none of the characters yet seen on the series are the real Joker. The Valeska boys may just be precursors to Batman’s true nemesis, who’s inspired by their antics to become Gotham’s greatest threat. That said, episode 4 of season 5 will be titled “Ace Chemicals,” which suggests someone’s going to go for a dip in some acid.
Gotham season 5, now with twelve episodes not ten, premieres on FOX on January 3rd.