Earlier this week, Fox releaseda trailer for theGothamepisode entitled"The Blind Fortune Teller", teasing that the new villain debuting next week is “no joke.” The end of the trailer showcased a character named Jerome, played byCameron Monaghan, who most thought was surely The Joker, due to his maniacal laugh. However, during a new interview withThe Hollywood Reporter, series creatorBruno Hellerwon’t confirm thatCameron Monaghan’s Jerome is, in fact, The Joker.
“He may or may not be The Joker. All I can promise is that’s not a bait and switch. It’s a long game we’re playing here.”
While he won’t confirm exactly who Jerome is yet, fans should still be paying attention to him, nonetheless, teasingCameron Monaghanwill become “the character we all know and love.”
“The great fun of this show is that it’s the origin story of these famous characters, and with The Joker, the wonderful thing is that nobody knows where he came from and what his genesis was. What I can guarantee is that you have to follow that brilliant young actorCameron Monaghandown the line, and you will see how this leads to the character we all know and love.”
The series creator added that he lovesCameron Monaghan’s work in the promo, since it makes fans wonder if it really is the Joker or not.
“One of the great things about this job is that you get to cast emerging young actors in iconic roles, as withRobin Tayloras The Penguin. (The challenge is) to hit the mark, so audiences ask, ‘Is that him? Could that be him?’ in a way that will resonate for those who are keen Batman fans and a larger audience. When the episode is aired, people will see it’s not an imitation of somebody else or an homage to anyone. It’s a performance in and of itself.”
He added that The Joker is a character he has been thinking about ever since he started the series.
“In the pantheon of villains, he’s the dark king of this world, so it would be cheating the audience if we didn’t get into that. On the other hand, as those who are deep into the mythology know, the actual Joker - the full-on villain himself - does not appear until after Batman appears. That’s both a narrative opportunity and a narrative problem at the same time.”
