David Mazouz may have played Bruce Wayne for the entirety of Gotham’s five-season run, but he was never once called Batman. However, we did get to see this universe’s Bruce suited up as Gotham City’s Dark Knight in the final moments of the series finale, which jumped forward 10 years after the events of Gotham’s penultimate episode. Looking back, Mazouz admitted that the DC TV show’s final episode felt “rushed,” and I agree with his idea with what would have been better, albeit a big ask.

While appearing on Love It Film to plug the short film he co-wrote, starred in and produced called Money Talks, David Mazouz recalled his involvement in the Gotham series finale, titled “The Beginning.” After mentioning that while he did voice the older Bruce in the episode, his face was CGI’d onto the “Russian stunt guy” who was wearing the Batsuit, he said this about how the show wrapped things up:

Rushed is a fair assessment considering we only got to spend one episode in this 10-years-later setting. Like David Mazouz pointed out, this was done to bring many of Gotham’s characters closer to their comic book counterparts. Bruce debuting as Batman was obviously the biggest example, but we did indeed also briefly get to see James Gordon in a mustache before shaving it off, and Riddler and Penguin also wore their more comic-accurate costumes. Jeremiah Valeska also emerged in his final “J” form, although it was left ambiguous whether he would actually become the Gotham universe’s Joker.

This was a lot to cram into a series finale, and I remember at the time hoping that Gotham’s last episode would be extended to two episodes. The preferable option, however, would be, like David Mazouz suggested, if Gotham had ran for another 10 seasons and we’d gotten to “The Beginning…” at a natural pace. But that unfortunately wasn’t in the cards, so Mazouz understood why the show’s writers went all in on the “fan service,” adding:

As interested as it is to imagine a 15-season Gotham run, the chances of that happening in real life would have been extremely slim. However, considering that Smallville ran for 10 seasons, perhaps there’s a world where Gotham might have lasted that same amount of time and come to a more organic conclusion. In our world, though, Fox decided to wrap up this take on the Batman mythos with a 10-episode fifth and final season, although the network later approved two additional episodes.

Though Gotham’s time has long since concluded, Batman’s onscreen future is looking as bright as ever. The Batman: Part II is still slated for an October 1, 2027 release, and it’s been reported that The Flash’s Christina Hodson has been tapped to write The Brave and the Bold, i.e. the upcoming DC movie that will introduce Batman to the DC Universe continuity.

Although Bruce Wayne was one of the main characters on Gotham for the entirety of its five-season run, it was only in the final seconds of the Fox series that fans finally saw David Mazouz’s version of the character actually suited up as Batman. Even then, the superhero’s name was never said in the series finale, titled “The Beginning…”, with the closest coming to when Robin Lord Taylor’s Penguin referred to his new adversary as a “man dressed like a bat.” However, the bigger issue for Gotham executive producer John Stephens on the Dark Knight’s long-awaited arrival was the “frustrating” way the Batsuit was handled.

In an oral history published by IGN for the 10th anniversary of Gotham’s premiere, Stephens and Mazouz recalled how the latter was never actually suited up as Batman in the final episode, with his face instead being superimposed with CGI over a stunt double who was wearing the costume. While discussing Gotham’s series finale, Stephens talked about the headache that popped up with the Batsuit, saying:

He’s right that the Gotham production team would have had a much easier time if they’d been able to borrow one of the Batsuits worn by actors like Michael Keaton and Christian Bale. After all, although David Mazouz’s Batman was dealing with criminals like Penguin, Riddler and Jeremiah Valeska throughout the Gotham series finale, he was never directly shown until the very end. The Batsuit only needed to properly shown in the final shot when the costumed Bruce was standing on the rooftop looking down at James Gordon, Alfred Pennyworth and Harvey Bullock on the top of GCPD headquarters. So with the actor standing perfectly still, there wouldn’t have been any danger of damaging an existing Batsuit.

That ultimately wasn’t in the cards, and as John Stephens pointed out, making a brand-new Batsuit wasn’t cheap. David Mazouz mentioned that as well, although he did note there was one perk that came with creating a Batsuit specifically for Gotham. As the actor recalled:

Given that Gotham was always intended to end with Batman’s first appearance, fans of the series will have to imagine how the costumed exploits of this Bruce Wayne ended up unfolding. But, as has been the case for a long time now, one doesn’t need to look far to witness a live-action Batman instilling fear into the hearts of criminals. Robert Pattinson brought Bruce Wayne to life in The Batman and will reprise the role in 2026’s The Batman: Part II. Additionally, the DC Universe’s Batman will be introduced at a yet-to-be-revealed date in The Brave and the Bold, which will pair this Bruce with his son Damian, who’s fighting by his side as Robin.

If you’re interested in revisiting Gotham or perhaps watching it for the first time, all you need is a Max subscription to stream its five seasons. Otherwise, continue visiting CinemaBlend for news on upcoming DC movies and upcoming DC TV shows.

The DC Universe is constantly expanding thanks to movie projects and small screen addventures for those with a Max subscription. Although the franchise is going through sweeping changes, thanks to new co-CEOs James Gunn and Peter Safran. The first chapter of the new DCU is titled Gods and Monsters, and will debut new versions of characters like Superman and Batman. And some DC fan art transformed Gotham’s David Mazouz into the Robin Damian Wayne.

One of the confirmed titles for the new DCU is The Brave and The Bold, which will follow Bruce Wayne and his son Damian, who was trained by the League of Assassins before becoming the next Robin. We don’t know much more, but fans are curious about what actors might be playing those two heroes. Some epic fan art on Instagram shows what former Bruce Wayne actor David Mazouz might look like as the Boy Wonder, check it out below:

And just like that Mazouz has gone from Bruce Wayne to Damian Wayne. You can’t deny that he looks pretty awesome in Robin’s signature costume. And after waiting season and season of Gotham for him to finally become Batman, this would be a big payout for shows of that series. We’ll just have to wait and see what James Gunn is planning for that upcoming DC movie.

While the new DCU is still in development, smart money says The Brave and The Bold is going to be one of the biggest events for the fandom. Batman is arguably the most popular DC superhero, and fans are always eager to see each new adaptation. But Robin hasn’t been on the big screen since the ‘90s, with none of them showing up throughout the DCEU’s run in theaters. That is, with the exception of the dead Robin’s suit in Affleck’s Batcave.

As previously mentioned, fans are curious about which actor might be playing Batman in the new version of the DCU. This is especially true given The Flash’s twist ending, which saw George Clooney reprise his role as Bruce Wayne. The movie also featured both Ben Affleck and Michael Keaton so there’s no telling who is going to be in the cowl for The Brave and The Bold. 

Of course, it’s more than possible that James Gunn will just get new actors to play Batman and Robin, ones who haven’t worked within the DC world before. There’s a new Clark Kent for his movie Superman: Legacy, which will be the first installment in the new DCU. So maybe he’ll be starting from scratch with Batman lore as well. Only time will tell, but David Mazouz seems like a great choice for Robin. 

The next DC movie hitting theaters is Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom on December 20th. In the meantime, check out the 2023 movie release dates to plan your next movie experience. 

The esteemed actors of the Criminal Minds cast not only had the honor of starring on one of the longest-running and most beloved crime procedurals on TV, but also had the pleasure of sharing the screen with many guest stars who would go on to become some of the biggest stars of today. Considering how it ran for a whopping total of 15 seasons on CBS, you can only imagine how many future Hollywood heavies appeared on the series. The following are some of the most recognizable names we dug up after their roles on Criminal Minds completely slipped our minds, starting with one actor who just a few years away from becoming TV royalty.

Aaron Paul (Michael Zizzo) 

In the premiere season of Criminal Minds (when Mandy Patinkin was still on the show), a 27-year-old Aaron Paul played a young man suspected of murder due to his involvement with a local group of Satanists who were framed by the high school student who turned out to be the real killer. In 2008, the actor played crystal meth dealer and manufacturer Jesse Pinkman on AMC’s Breaking Bad, for which he earned three Emmy Awards and a newfound reputation as a leading man on both the small screen and the big screen. 

Dean Norris (Det. John Barton) 

Speaking of Breaking Bad cast members, Dean Norris is still known best to this day for his role as Hank Schrader - devoted DEA agent and unsuspecting brother-in-law of notorious drug lord Walter White (Bryan Cranston) - on the acclaimed drama. He had actually already been cast on the show when he was temporarily demoted to police detective for a 2010 episode of Criminal Minds, on which his character helps the crew locate the last victim of a serial killer with clues he strangely left after taking his own life.

Walton Goggins (John Cooley)

Speaking of strange criminals, Walton Goggins received his sole Emmy nomination (so far) for playing Boyd Crowder on FX’s Justified, which would lead to an increasingly esteemed film career that includes a villainous role in the Marvel movies (namely 2018 Ant-Man and the Wasp) and becoming a frequent player in Quentin Tarantino’s recent filmography. In between his stint on The Shield and joining the Justified cast, the actor played a longtime friend of Emily Prentiss (Paget Brewster) who almost falls prey to a murderous priest (Carmen Argenziano) in a creepy Criminal Minds episode from Season 4.

Sterling K. Brown (Fitz) 

Sterling K. Brown also became a Marvel movie star in 2018 after appearing in Black Panther, following his Emmy-winning turns on both FX’s American Crime Story: The People vs. O.J. Simpson as Christopher Darden and NBC’s This Is Us cast as Randall Pearson. Before all of that, in 2015, the St. Louis native appeared as a security guard for the United States embassy in Barbados in a Season 10 episode of Criminal Minds that served as back door pilot for the series’ short-lived spin-off Criminal Minds: Beyond Borders.

Mike Colter (Colin Bramwell)

Mike Colter would become a Marvel TV show star in 2015 after appearing on Netflix’s Jessica Jones as the indestructible Luke Cage before getting his own self-title spin-off and, then, reprising the role on the streaming platform’s crossover series, The Defenders. Before that short-lived, but much-loved, phenomenon blew up his career, the Evil cast member played a former Special Forces sniper turned serial killer hired by his former colleague to kill his ex-wife on Season 9 of Criminal Minds.

Evan Peters (Charlie Hillridge) 

Someone who is also known for both Marvel movies (he was Quicksilver in the X-Men movies) and Marvel TV shows (he sort of reprised the Quicksilver role when he joined the WandaVision cast) is Evan Peters, who would initially acquire household name status as a series regular on American Horror Story since 2011. About a year before that creepy anthology premiered, the actor guest starred on Criminal Minds’ sixth season as a young man who was abducted as an 8-year-old by married murderers who would later make him their reluctant accomplice.

Finn Wittrock (Harvey Morell) 

On the other side of that coin, Harvey Morell was the willful accomplice to a killer named Caleb Rossmore (Jeff Newburg), with whom he shared an obsession with the Zodiac Killer, on a Season 7 episode of Criminal Minds. Playing that young killer was fellow recurring American Horror Story cast member Finn Wittrock, who will also add superhero TV shows to his resume when he plays Guy Gardner - a member of the Green Lantern Corps - on HBO Max’s upcoming original series based on the cosmic DC comic book.

David Mazouz (Ryan Hall) 

Speaking of DC TV shows, in 2014, David Mazouz had the honor of joining the Gotham cast as a young Bruce Wayne dealing with the recent murder of his parents for five seasons. Years before the Batman prequel series premiered, the actor also appeared on a Season 7 of Criminal Minds as a boy whose battle with leukemia sends his boxing champ father (Shawn Hatosy) into a murderous rage.

Cameron Monaghan (Jeffrey Charles) 

David Mazouz’s Gotham co-star Cameron Monaghan (who plays a particularly clownish criminal named Jerome Valeska) is also famous for playing Ian Gallagher on the Shameless cast for 11 seasons. You could say that he had some decent preparation for the former, more villainous (and Joker-esque) role when he landed a guest spot on Criminal Minds’ sophomore run as a young boy abandoned by his mother who takes his anger out on three people by bludgeoning them to death.

Elle Fanning (Tracy Belle) 

Cameron Monaghan’s Jeffrey Charles almost claimed a fourth victim - a little girl named Tracy Belle, whom he lures out into the woods before Mandy Patinkin’s Jason Gideon saves her at, essentially, the last minute. Tracy Belle was played on Criminal Minds by Elle Fanning, who - like her older sister, Dakota - would grow up to become one of the most sought after actresses of her generation, known for movies like Super 8 from 2011 and for leading Hulu’s The Great cast as Catherine the Great.

Jessie T. Usher (Daniel)

If we could switch gears for just a moment back to stars of superhero TV shows, Jessie T. Usher is known today as Samuel L. Jackson’s son in Tim Story’s 2019 Shaft movie and Will Smith’s son in the 2016 sequel Independence Day: Resurgence, but especially from Amazon Prime’s The Boys cast as A-Train. Before he had a starring role in anything, he had a guest spot on Criminal Minds’ two-part Season 4 finale in which the BAU investigates a series of murder that leads to make a shocking discovery at a pig farm in Canada.

Ariel Winter (Katie)

Although best known as Alex Dunphy on the Modern Family cast, Ariel Winter also has experience playing a superhero, having voiced a later incarnation of Robin named Carrie Kelley in one of the best DC animated movies, Batman: The Dark Knight Returns, in 2012 and 2013. Years before the ABC sitcom made her a star, Winter was on Criminal Minds Season 3 as a young girl abducted and left for dead by her own aunt (Suzanne Cryer) who blamed her niece for ruining her marriage to her pedophile husband (Emmanuel Xuereb).

Melissa Leo (Georgia Davis)

Academy Award winner Melissa Leo (for the 2011 sports biopic The Fighter) would actually make her superhero movies debut in 2021 with the Netflix original action comedy Thunder Force. In Criminal Minds two-part Season 2 finale, the actress played a small town sheriff whose abduction leads to the BAU’s first encounter with prolific serial killer Frank Breitkopft, played by Keith Carradine.

Julia Butters (Gabby) 

Another notable abduction victim from Criminal Minds is the title character of “Gabby,” the 16th episode of the series’ ninth season, which was also the acting debut of then-5-year-old Julia Butters. The starlet would then land a recurring spot on the Transparent cast, a starring role on CBS’s American Housewife, and a memorable, scene-stealing role in Once Upon a Time in Hollywood as Rick Dalton’s precocious Lancer co-star. 

Sydney Sweeney (Dani Forester)

Fellow Once Upon a Time in Hollywood cast member Sydney Sweeney also made one of her earliest appearances on Criminal Minds as a young girl murdered along with her brother and mother by a serial killer who specializes in taking out whole families in Season 5. She would later achieve acclaim after joining the Handmaid’s Tale cast as Eden Spencer, the White Lotus cast as Olivia Mossbacher, and on HBO’s Euphoria cast as Cassie Howard, to name just a few notable roles. 

Anton Yelchin (Nathan Harris)

In lieu of the many notable roles that prove Anton Yelchin as one of the most exceptional talents of his time (Green Room, Charlie Bartlett, J.J. Abrams’ Star Trek movies, etc.), he gave one criminally underrated performance on Criminal Minds’ second season as a teen with sexually sadistic tendencies. Sadly, Yelchin passed away in 2016 at the age of 27 when his Jeep Cherokee, which appeared to be in park but was really in neutral, rolled backward and pinned him against the security fence outside his Los Angeles home.

People who work in law enforcement likely rarely forget the faces of anyone they investigate, swore to protect, or failed to save. However, if you are guilty of forgetting any of these Criminal Minds characters and the now famous actors who played them,  you are forgiven.

What Smallville did for Superman, Gotham, in many ways, did the for Batman - even if Commissioner Gordon’s origin story was just as, if not more, important than that of Bruce Wayne’s heroic evolution. The series, which ran for five seasons on Fox, also made comic book stars out of its exceptional cast (including Donal Logue, Jada Pinkett Smith, and Robin Lord Taylor, to name a few) and, for some, it would not be the last time.

In fact, for many members of the cast, Gotham was not even their first taste of… well, Gotham or any other fictional city in the DC Universe or other comic book continuities. Of course, the variety that has defined their careers before and after landing a part in the Batman prequel series should also not go unnoticed.

In fact, I intend to take a deeper look into the filmographies of the hit TV show’s most famous faces and find out what is next in store for them. Let’s see what the following 13 Gotham stars have been up to since its 2019 series finale, starting with an actor who got to play one of Batman’s most famous supporting allies, but as the star of the show this time.

Ben McKenzie (James Gordon)

Before playing Gotham’s future commissioner, Ben McKenzie’s debut cop role was on Southland alongside Regina King and The Walking Dead’s Michael Cudlitz, but it was playing troubled teen Ryan Atwood on The O.C. that made him a star. The now 42-year-old Texan (who actually got to play Batman in a 2011 animated adaptation of Frank Miller’s Year One miniseries) has since graduated to playing an FBI agent in Amazon Prime’s The Report, and a terrorist who has it out for a cop, played by The Dark Knight’s Aaron Eckhart, in 2019’s Line of Duty. He's also raising a child with his former Gotham co-star and now wife, Morena Baccarin.

Morena Baccarin (Leslie Tompkins)

Like their Gotham characters (but with far less on-and-off tragedy), Ben McKenzie found love with his Gotham co-star (despite previously meeting on The O.C.) Morena Baccarin - who earned her Geek Goddess status from Firefly, and the feature-length sequel Serenity. She's also played other DC characters in live action series (The Flash), or animated films (DCAU’s Talia Al Ghul), eventually playing Deadpool’s girlfriend, Vanessa. The Brazilian-born beauty played the wife of another comic book movie star, 300’s Gerard Butler, in the 2020 disaster flick Greenland, and will play the lead of the upcoming sci-fi series Home Invasion.

Donal Logue (Harvey Bullock)

We go from Jim Gordon’s partner-in-life to his corrupt partner on Gotham’s police force, played by Donal Logue - a talented character actor whose various credits include cinematic favorites like Jerry Maguire, sitcoms like Grounded for Life, crime dramas like Sons of Anarchy, and fellow comic book adaptations such as Ghost Rider from 2007, and 1998’s Blade. His first cop roles after Harvey Bullock were a sheriff on the Peacock original series Departure, and a P.I. on Stumptown (also based on a graphic novel series), and he also will play a police chief in the highly anticipated reboot of the Resident Evil movie franchise.

David Mazouz (Bruce Wayne)

Of course, we cannot forget who the show is also about: Gotham’s Dark Knight, played by David Mazouz - who previously played another young hero (but with psychic powers) in the short-lived Fox series Touch, also starring Kiefer Sutherland as his widowed father. The now 20-year-old actor will once again star as the younger version of an orphaned central “hero,” opposite the likes of Ewan McGregor and Aldis Hodge, in the upcoming crime thriller The Birthday Cake, which is now in post-production.

Sean Pertwee (Alfred Pennyworth)

At least Bruce Wayne could find a father figure in his family’s live-in servant, Alfred - played on Gotham by Sean Pertwee, who has not only appeared in all kinds of other nerdy things (like sci-fi horror Event Horizon, modern-day Sherlock Holmes retelling Elementary, and video games franchises like Assassin’s Creed), but is also the son of the third actor to play the title role of Doctor Who, Jon Pertwee. The 56-year-old has reunited with Dog Soldiers director Neil Marshall for 2021 period horror flick The Reckoning and stars opposite Game of Thrones’ Maisie Williams in the darkly comic British crime series Two Weeks to Live.

Erin Richards (Barbara Kean)

Another UK-born Gotham star (although you wouldn’t know from the show) is Erin Richards, who plays Jim Gordon’s on-and-off criminal ex-fiancée Barbara Kean, and also directed a Season 5 episode of the series after making her own short film, Hot Girl, in 2018. The Welsh actress also directed an episode of the short-lived CBS drama God Friended Me in 2020 and, as for work in front of the camera, will star in a Covid-19 era romance, Grey Elephant, and is now filming a drama, with the plot currently under wraps (although it sounds like it could, too, be a Covid-19 era flick), called Save the Cinema.

Jessica Lucas (Tabitha Galavan)

Another former lover of Barbara Kean is her partner in crime Tabitha Galavan, otherwise known as Tigress, whom Jessica Lucas (of CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, Melrose Place, and 2013’s Evil Dead fame) portrayed on Gotham until the character's death in the Season 5 premiere. The underrated Scream Queen went on to lead her own crime procedural, The Murders, filmed in her home country of Canada, and is joining the cast of medical drama The Resident. There is no word on if she will be involved in the upcoming direct sequel to Cloverfield, but, considering, we never witnessed her demise in the 2008 found footage hit, it is entirely possible.

Camren Bicondova (Selina Kyle)

Tabitha Galavan also served as a mentor to the young woman who would one day become Catwoman on Gotham - the breakout role of Camren Bicondova (before Banshee star Lili Simmons took over the part for the flash forward finale), whose dancing skills had previously earned her an uncredited spot on Disney Channel’s Shake It Up, and a small part in the film Battlefield America in 2012. The 21-year-old talent is also an active supporter of various philanthropic causes, such as the NOH8 Campaign, and recently starred in and produced the dramatic short film 3 Days Closer, in 2020.

Robin Lord Taylor (Oswald Cobblepot)

Short films, along with a recurring role on the hit Netflix exclusive thriller You, and a small, but memorably interesting, appearance in John Wick: Chapter 3 - Parabellum, are among the more recent projects for Robin Lord Taylor - who received much acclaim for his performance as the criminal who would one day take on Batman as the Penguin, Oswald Cobblepot. Also known for playing a character aptly named A.D.D. in the 2006 college comedy Accepted, the now 42-year-old will next be seen in director James Franco’s 1940s period piece The Long Home, and his crime drama 10-13, written and directed by former Gotham and Dexter star David Zayas, is now in pre-production.

Jada Pinkett Smith (Fish Mooney)

Seeing Jada Pinkett Smith (life partner to Will) play Maria “Fish” Mooney, a ruthless criminal completely original to Gotham (following her lead role on short-lived medical drama Hawthorne), was a pleasant surprise, considering her big screen stardom from Scream 2, Michael Mann’s Collateral, and lending her voice to Gloria the Hippo in the Madagascar franchise. The host of Red Table Talk (a Facebook Watch exclusive talk show she hosts with her daughter and mother) has since appeared as an FBI agent in Angel Has Fallen and will reprise her role as Niobe in the highly anticipated fourth installment of The Matrix movies - now in post-production.

Cory Michael Smith (Edward Nygma)

As for another classic Batman villain, Cory Michael Smith gave one riddling performance on Gotham as Edward Nygma - his screen acting debut before appearing films like Academy Award-nominated Carol, Neil Armstrong biopic First Man, and the 2018 LGBTQ+ period tragedy 1985, which he also produced. Outside of his starring role on the short-lived Amazon Prime original series Utopia, the actor has since returned to his theater roots (sort of) by participating in virtual performances of stage plays, such as a reading of Christa McAuliffe’s Eyes Were Blue from One Night in Miami scribe Kemp Powers, from February to April 2021.

Maggie Geha (Ivy Pepper)

The Riddler is not the only Batman villain known for wearing green, it's also the signature color for Gotham's Poison Ivy, as played by 2004's Miss Vermont Teen USA, Maggie Geha, in the third and fourth seasons. The redheaded model and former All My Children actress would later the join the cast of the Netflix original sitcom Mr. Iglesias and is set for a role in Mel Rodriguez III's upcoming comedy Benny's Lament, for which she is, unsurprisingly, currently credited as "Femme Fatale."

Cameron Monaghan (Jerome Valeska)

Most Gotham fans, however, would argue that the series' most dazzling interpretation of an iconic DC baddie is Cameron Monaghan's Jerome Valeska - who is not necessarily, but pretty much is, The Joker. The talented 27-year-old's other most identifiable roles are Ian Gallagher on Showtime's Shameless and Cal Kestis in the video game Star Wars: Fallen Order, but be sure to look out for him in the upcoming horror film The White Devil, the action thriller Wake, and the horror crime thriller Deliberation.

Even though he was never explicitly referred to as The Joker on Gotham, some consider Cameron Monaghan's role as their favorite version of the Clown Prince of Crime. Although that was, unfortunately, not always the case for the series' other reinterpretations of classic characters, it is hard to argue against the belief that the cast of the Batman prequel made quite an impact on the world of DC. Wherever there are further updates to find regarding this hit TV series' legacy, CinemaBlend will be there.

Mild spoilers below for Gotham's series finale, among other things, so be sure you're all caught up.

In closing out its final season, Gotham launched viewers to the point in Gotham City's future when Bruce Wayne finally returned to his crime-ridden home turf in full Dark Knight glory. Of course, the episode held its focus on all the other colorful and iconic characters that have populated Gotham throughout its five seasons, granting Jim Gordon, Barbara Kean, Oswald Cobblepot, Ed Nygma and others a fond comic-book-infused farewell. But could these characters return in our future one day?

The #1 hope, of course, is for another network or studio to hurry up and pick up where Gotham left off, but even if it takes time, there are feasible ways to jump back into Gotham's story. It's not likely that every single cast member would be able to pick back up where their characters left off, but CinemaBlend asked a handful of stars, including Cameron Monaghan, if they would be down to return. Let's run through their answers.

Cameron Monaghan - Jeremiah / J / The Joker

Of all the elements that made Gotham such a blazing romp, its greatest weapon was the sporadically utilized Cameron Monaghan, who inspired increasingly Joker-esque pandemonium as both Jerome and Jeremiah Valeska, as well as the finale's Mr. J. Oker. (Not the actual character name, but wouldn't that be a hoot.) Thinking about Gotham returning in the future without Monaghan's sadistic villain – or even just his laugh – is a bummer, so it's a good thing we don't need to do that.

CinemaBlend spoke with Cameron Monaghan for this year's Television Critics Association winter press tour, which took place ahead of the finale's airing, but after the principal photography was shot. The actor was very pumped for fans to get a load of Jeremiah's final turn, and I had to ask if he would be interested in reprising Gotham's version of The Joker in the future. His response:

The last time we got to see Cameron Monaghan's Joker was in his first face-off against Bruce Wayne's Batman, although it was a severely short-lived one. The scarred-up J took a Batarang through the hand, and then one to the top of the dome, which knocked him clean out, though it definitely didn't kill him.

Considering the finale was viewers's big introduction to the post-Arkham Jeremiah, it would make total sense for his next appearance to head down a different creative route. Assuming the next Gotham project would get to feature more of Batman, that would automatically change the writers' approach to weaving a Joker storyline into it. And I'd love to see it, if someone can just make it happen. Someone?

Ben McKenzie - Commissioner Jim Gordon

If there was a load-bearing character on Gotham, it would definitely be Ben McKenzie's Jim Gordon, as close to a working-class superhero as there is. The fact that the finale even hinted at him trying to quit the GCPD was surprising, given the character's legacy, but the story obviously worked itself out in Gotham City's favor. Even if he had to shave to make it happen.

I also got to talk to Ben McKenzie during TCA, where we talked about him facing fellow former teen hunk Shane West as Bane. McKenzie is a pragmatic actor who loved his time on Gotham, even if he didn't flip out with excitement over Batman's arrival. But would he return to play Jim Gordon again someday? His answer:

Three different shows that might seemingly have three very different fan demographics, too. Ben McKenzie starred in both the teen drama The O.C. and the non-comic cop drama Southland before hanging his hat in Gotham City, and I've no doubt that fans of both of those shows would love to see them get revived in some form or fashion.

Regardless of any of that, though, Ben McKenzie sounds like he'd be willing to slick his hair back anew to lead the GCPD against whatever dangerous threats lie over the horizon. Just imagine if the newest recruit on the squad was his Southland character Ben Sherman, and if Joker's newest henchman was The O.C.'s Ryan Atwell.

Robin Lord Taylor - Oswald Cobblepot / The Penguin

After five seasons of watching Robin Lord Taylor committing some Penguin-lite acts as Oswald Cobblepot, Gotham fans were introduced to the most genuine iteration of The Penguin that TV has seen since Burgess Meredith waddled around for the 60's Batman series. The penultimate episode injured his eye to set up the monocle, and a rough decade in Arkham Asylum led to his weight gain and heightened levels of frustrated anger.

I got to talk to Robin Lord Taylor on the phone just ahead of the finale's airing, and he seemed to still be riding that one-of-a-kind Gotham high, championing the work he got to do alongside Cory Michael Smith as Ed Nygma. When I asked Taylor if he would ever want to get uncomfortable in The Penguin's signature garb again in the future, he was down, but only if his co-stars were making the return with him.

As great as Oswald and Ed were in Gotham's first 99 episodes, seeing them in pure Penguin 'n' Riddler glory was a gloriously batty punctuation mark on the series' run. (A question mark, of course.) Any follow-up version of Gotham would be severely lacking if Taylor's Oswald and Smith's Ed were absent. However, Robin Lord Taylor wouldn't begrudge another team picking up where the Fox drama left off. In his words:

Again, it should be stated that any future Gotham-y project that doesn't have Robin Lord Taylor's Penguin and Cory Michael Smith's Riddler is not the ideal iteration of that project. So other decisions should probably be made. Soon.

David Mazouz - Bruce Wayne / The Dark Knight

David Mazouz's potential to return to Gotham's universe would a little trickier than what would happen for the others. As viewers witnessed – or didn't witness, as it were – Mazouz's Bruce Wayne was completely absent from the series finale, which wasn't announced ahead of time like Camren Bicondova's absence was. (She was replaced as Selina by Lily Simmons.) That was, of course, due to the actor's young age not exactly matching up with Bruce's for the finale's flash-forward.

As such, I didn't directly ask him about reprising Bruce Wayne for a future Gotham project, I did ask if he'd be down to play Batman on the big screen. His answer did not take long to formulate.

While that probably won't happen either, assuming that new Batman movie doesn't get postponed for more years on end, David Mazouz did have some pretty sweet advice for whatever actor does take on the role of Bruce Wayne in the future.

All that said, David Mazouz spoke so highly of his experience on Gotham, especially in the final season, that he would very likely return for more small screen vigilantism should anyone come calling. Now, someone, start calling!

Gotham is over on Fox now, but there's always the hope for more in the future. While waiting for Season 5 to hit streaming, you can watch the first four seasons on Netflix, while Hulu is still hosting the final five episodes of the series.

Gotham spent five seasons earning itself the honor as arguably the most wonderfully bonkers and original superhero series on television, but the era of Gotham has come to an end. The Fox show's series finale airs April 25 and is tasked with both tying up loose ends and setting the stage for the Bat-adventure to get into gear, even if that adventure will take place off-screen.

Sadly, the stars of Gotham will leave their characters behind barring the very unlikely announcement of a sequel series or surprise Season 6. Several of the actors who made Gotham as much fun as it became spoke with CinemaBlend about the end and what they'll miss the most.

David Mazouz

Back when Gotham premiered in 2014, David Mazouz was a 13-year-old kid tasked with played the young version of the man who would become one of the most iconic superheroes in the history of the genre. At the time, it was difficult to say how he would be able to handle Bruce Wayne in the long run or even if he would hit the right growth spurts to make it believable that he would become Batman.

Well, David Mazouz wasted no time in proving that he could deliver nuance as Bruce Wayne and action as the future Batman, and the series finale gave Mazouz the opportunity to wear the cowl as the Dark Knight despite the episode jumping ten years into the future. The time jump resulted in a recast Selina Kyla; Mazouz stayed on to play the older version of his character. Speaking with CinemaBlend's Nick Venable at the 2019 winter TCA panels, Mazouz said this about moving on from Gotham:

There's really no denying that Gotham is immensely creative. Not only was it a very original take on telling the origin story of Batman and his city as it was when he felt the need to don the cape and the cowl; it also evolved as time went on. What began as something akin to a police procedural that just so happened to feature some extra crazy criminals with iconic comic book names turned into something unpredictable, dramatic, hilarious, and completely unique.

David Mazouz shared what he considers the show's greatest accomplishment, and fans all over will undoubtedly agree with him. He also revealed his feelings looking back at the show and what it pulled off over the years:

In a perfect world, whatever David Mazouz does next would involve playing Bruce Wayne in the next stage of his life, and I feel like there are going to be blanks in the timeline between the end of the game-changing penultimate episode and the series finale that could totally use a sequel series. Fans can always dream, right? Mazouz did say he'd be game to play Batman again in the future.

Ben McKenzie

Gotham may have been the origin story for Bruce Wayne becoming Batman, but the real main character of the series was always Jim Gordon. The soldier-turned-cop started out as somebody unwilling to bend in his principles, developed into somebody who understood that protecting and serving in Gotham City meant breaking the rules sometimes, and reached the point where he would just acknowledge Riddler tricks as something in Gotham that you kinda just get used to.

Actor Ben McKenzie crafted a Jim Gordon different from others that have made it to the big and small screen before, and not just because he didn't wear the iconic Jim Gordon mustache, with only a couple of exceptions (one of which will be in the finale). Here's what he'll miss about Gotham:

Ben McKenzie is going to miss the cast, especially Donal Logue, who spent five years more or less by his side as Harvey Bullock. Many cops circulated in and out of the GCPD throughout the five seasons, but Jim and Harvey always came back to each other. As McKenzie says, though, at least he doesn't have to miss Morena Baccarin, who played Lee Thompkins! McKenzie and Baccarin married in real life back in 2017.

Cameron Monaghan

Who could have guessed back in Season 1 that guest star Cameron Monaghan would go on to play not one but two of Gotham's most iconic villains? He was the show's perfect candidate to become the Joker from the moment that he first cackled his terrifyingly perfect laugh as Jerome Valeska, and he only got better when Jerome's secret twin brother Jeremiah was transformed into the new Valeska villain.

Jeremiah got just about everything but the Joker name in Season 5, including the dip in the glowing green vat at Ace Chemicals after a fight with Bruce Wayne. And that wasn't even his last go at playing a Joker-esque baddie! Cameron Monaghan had a different point of view on the end of the show than both David Mazouz and Ben McKenzie, saying this:

Will Jeremiah ever get the official "Joker" name before the finale credits roll? Only the April 25 finale will tell for sure. Whether he does or not, however, I think Cameron Monaghan deserves to be ranked among the best of the best all-time portrayers of the Clown Prince of Crime. That said, Monaghan did reveal that there's one thing he won't miss about playing Jeremiah Valeska: the makeup process.

Gotham's makeup team may be great, but hours in the makeup chair weren't what made Gotham special to Cameron Monaghan. Hey, at least he had time to enjoy some Martin Scorsese classics. Not many people can say they got to do that on the job!

Robin Lord Taylor

Last but certainly not least, Robin Lord Taylor chatted with CinemaBlend ahead of the series finale to share his thoughts on the series, including about what happened to Edward the Dog after the pooch's semi-cliffhanger ending in the penultimate episode. As Penguin, Taylor rose from the lowly status as Fish Mooney's umbrella boy to criminal kingpin of Gotham City, although not without his fair share of entertaining setbacks.

As for what Robin Lord Taylor will miss most about Gotham, his feelings echo those of Ben McKenzie's:

Robin Lord Taylor will also miss the people he worked with over the years on Gotham, and he too gave a special mention of his frequent on-screen enthusiastic partner/mortal enemy/reluctant ally, depending on the season. Taylor and Cory Michael Smith as Penguin and Riddler put the "fun" in dysfunctional, and it's only fitting that both bad guys got snazzy suit upgrades for the grand finale. Would Gotham's finale really feel right if Penguin and Riddler weren't causing trouble side-by-side once more?

Find out exactly what kind of trouble they cause for Jim Gordon and Co. (including, finally, Batman) when Gotham's series finale airs on Thursday, April 25 at 8 p.m. ET on Fox. Jeremiah will be back in the mix somehow, and Selina will look very different, so it is certainly not an episode to be missed.

Spoilers ahead for the "Ace Chemicals" episode of Gotham Season 5.

Gotham has gone through a lot of changes over the years, and it's almost inconceivable that the bonkers series of Season 5 started out as a gritty crime drama. One thing that has been consistent all along is Bruce's slow development into somebody who would come to the conclusion that he should dress like a bat to fight crime. With the series winding down, Bruce is getting closer and closer to becoming Batman, and the showdown between Bruce and Jeremiah in "Ace Chemicals" set up the transformation more than ever.

David Mazouz chatted with CinemaBlend at the TCA press tour, and he explained some of how the battle between Bruce and Jeremiah set the stage for Batman, and what he had to say points toward a thrilling final batch of episodes before the final credits roll.

The Aftermath Of "Ace Chemicals"

Everything will be different for Bruce after "Ace Chemicals." Jeremiah didn't die at the end of the episode, but he did wind up falling into a vat of chemicals in a scene that was practically straight out of the pages of the Killing Joke comic. Since he's Jeremiah, of course he survived. Still, he was left comatose in the hospital, his face warped beyond recognition and with no recorded brain activity. For all intents and purposes, Jeremiah is gone. (For now.)

Unfortunately for Bruce, that's not all that's gone. Wayne Manor was blown up by Jeremiah in the first stage of his plan to forge an unbreakable bond with Bruce, Alfred was injured in the escape, and the river was polluted by Jeremiah's toxin. That last twist ruined Gotham's chances of reunification with the mainland, so Bruce won't be able to escape the darkness of his city in its no man's land state just yet.

When asked what's in store for Bruce between "Ace Chemicals" and the finale, David Mazouz said this:

Another arch villain is on the way? On top of Bane? We do already know that the Ventriloquist is on the way despite a big death seemingly ruling him out, but it's difficult to say if he'll be big enough a bad to qualify as an "arch villain." Only time will tell on that front. Based on what's in store for one of the people closest to Bruce in the whole world, the last thing the poor kid needs is another villain.

Apparently, Bruce is going to have to face the consequences of however he tries to deal with what's coming his way, and that will involve a change in his lifestyle. Since his transformation into the man who will become Batman is speeding up, it's not hard to believe that he'll do something crazy! Well-adjusted people don't dress like bats to battle bad guys, after all.

Bruce Needs Some Toys

"Ace Chemicals" saw yet another gigantic loss for Bruce Wayne thanks to Jeremiah. Part of Jeremiah's plan to bond himself to Bruce involved a dinner at Wayne Manor with Thomas and Martha Wayne lookalikes, complete with a hypnotized Alfred helping out as butler. Unfortunately, although Bruce and Alfred would survive the encounter at Wayne Manor, Wayne Manor itself would not. Jeremiah armed explosives throughout the manor and then activated them, leaving Bruce only just enough time to nab Alfred and run for it.

Wayne Manor is gone, which presumably means that Bruce's proto-Batcave has been destroyed. The structure beneath the manor's foundation may still be there, but Bruce is going to need some new toys. As much as the destruction of his childhood home and remaining connections to his parents is a tragedy, it does provide him with an opportunity to beef up his next Batcave. He can make it into whatever he wants, and that certainly sets up his future as the Dark Knight. What's Batman without a Batcave?

Bruce probably also lost his proto-Batmobile. At least the proto-Bat Signal is probably okay! A big question is how Bruce could go about amassing the toys he needs to be Batman and perhaps building his new Batcave. The obvious answer is via Lucius Fox. David Mazouz teased some of what to expect from Lucius in the rest of Season 5:

It sounds like Lucius will have a lot to do with helping the city as a whole, but that doesn't mean he won't have time to give some gadgets to Bruce. The Batcave may have to wait; Bruce getting toys will not. Maybe the flash-forward to Bruce as Batman will at least show a Batcave in all its completed glory.

Enter The Joker?

Thanks to "Ace Chemicals," the odds seem better than ever that Jeremiah will really and truly become Gotham's version of the Clown Prince of Crime and not just a kinda sorta Joker-ish character. As much as Jeremiah's dip in the vat of chemicals seems designed to deliver a distinctly Killing Joke-esque twist for his character, it also represents a change for Bruce. After all, what is Batman without his crazy villains?

Here's how David Mazouz describes what the "Ace Chemicals" climax means for Bruce:

Fans will have to wait until the end of the series to really understand how this climax impacts the grand scheme of Gotham; at least David Mazouz is confident about it! Only 12 episodes were ordered for Season 5, so there aren't that many episodes left, and a lot still needs to happen.

Eduardo Dorrance hasn't gotten his full transformation into Bane just yet, Ed and Barbara are teaming up with Penguin to build a submarine to take them safely through the mined waters of the river separating Gotham from the mainland, and that little complication of the bun in Barbara's oven. Selina's journey undoubtedly isn't over, Walker is still around, Professor Strange can be doing just about anything to anybody he gets his hands on, and now the river is polluted! And what about that big kiss between Jim and Lee?

Tune in to Fox on Thursdays at 8 p.m. ET for new episodes of Gotham. For some viewing options on the other nights of the week, swing by our midseason TV premiere schedule. The craziest DC TV show other than Gotham (and with Legends of Tomorrow on hiatus) has to be Doom Patrol, which recently premiered on DC Universe.

Spoiler warning for anyone who isn't yet caught up with Gotham's fifth and final season.

For years, Gotham has given fans an abundance of Joker-esque storylines and character beats, but mostly without the ability to directly reference the comic character’s mythos. That’s definitely meant to change in the upcoming episode “Ace Chemicals,” whose iconic title location is central to many versions of The Joker’s origins. The episode's trailer teases potentially big transitions on the way, and Cameron Monaghan talked excitedly with CinemaBlend at TCA about Gotham being able to break ground with such a Joker-tastic setting.

Ace Chemicals was first introduced in 1951 (Detective Comics #168), in the Bill Finger storyline that first gave Joker his Red Hood backstory. Gotham has already run through a couple of Red Hood appearances that weren't tied to Cameron Monaghan's Valeska brothers, so it's clear the Fox drama won't be rekindling that arc with Jeremiah.

While we have yet to learn whether or not "Ace Chemicals" will be the inciting location for Jeremiah's transcendent rise to super-villainy, we can safely assume that the episode will truly set the stage for him to become Bruce Wayne's worst nightmare and lifelong nemesis.

Both "Pena Dura" and "13 Stitches" ended with Jeremiah setting the dust-ridden Wayne Manor up for a truly horrific trip down memory lane. First, he seemed to have either resurrected Thomas and Wayne Martha, or found a way to clone them, and then he kidnapped Alfred. Here, Cameron Monaghan talks about Jeremiah burrowing his way into Bruce's psyche, Joker-style.

The extended "Chemical Green" trailer, seen lower, makes it more abundantly clear that Jeremiah is going to somehow make Bruce re-experience the day his parents were killed. And it doesn't look like this will merely be a hallucinatory experience similar to what Bruce went through in the past. Jeremiah wants things to be all too real.

While it isn't clear yet how the episode will make the leap from the Waynes' final hours to the Ace Chemicals plant – nor how Jeremiah apparently becomes Zorro at one point – it IS clear that big things are going to go down inside the facility. Not only with Jeremiah and Bruce, but also the Mad Hatter, who'll be making his rhyme-time return. His presence does make one curious just what is being concocted in those giant vats.

What fans really want to know, though, is what would happen if someone fell down into that green gunk. If either Bruce or Jeremiah does take an acid bath, the fall will likely be a relief after the extended brawl that will go down. Here, Cameron Monaghan tells a story relaying how physically strenuous it was filming parts of that sequence.

Batman-related films and TV shows don't ever really get into the awkward details of Bruce Wayne having to function while being completely worn out and overheated. Even a billionaire vigilante can fall victim to an upset stomach after long brawls with killer sadists.

I also got to chat with Gotham's David Mazouz during TCA, and the actor was absolutely just as enthusiastic about "Ace Chemicals" as Cameron Monaghan was. Here, Mazouz further explains the purpose behind Jeremiah's most appallingly sinister act yet.

If there's anyone out there who can personify their hate in a way that goes farther than Jeremiah's tactics, that's not the person I want as a future employer. (Or as a lover, or an adopted parent, or most other things.)

For everyone who needs an extra Bat-flavored tease about where "Ace Chemicals" will take these characters, here's what else David Mazouz had to say about the episode.

What does that mean for Bruce and Jeremiah as far as Gotham's final episodes go? Will this indeed pave the way for whatever new character Cameron Monaghan is playing post-Jeremiah? What does it mean for anyone else in Gotham? For viewers, it means another wild and trippy ride from the most bizarrely nuanced drama currently airing, which is all we could hope for. Check out the green-band trailer below.

Gotham will continue zipping through its final season every Thursday night on Fox at 8:00 p.m. ET, with "Ace Chemicals" airing on February 21.

Gotham’s fifth and final season is in full swing on Fox, and the show isn’t holding back on twists fans have been waiting for all along. That said, given that this is Gotham we’re talking about, those twists come with a distinct flair that hasn’t been done in any other superhero story. Now, as the show hurtles toward its grand finale, Bruce Wayne/Batman actor David Mazouz sat down with CinemaBlend’s Nick Venable at the TCA press tour to reveal Gotham’s greatest accomplishment, saying this:

Way back when Gotham first kicked off, it took itself surprisingly serious for a series destined to include fundamentally bonkers characters like The Riddler and Penguin. It almost felt like a crime procedural that happened to feature characters sharing names with iconic DC Comics characters, and that worked back when Jim Gordon was just beginning to figure out what makes Gotham City tick.

Now, years later, Gotham embraces the ridiculous on a regular basis in the very best way. As David Mazouz (who is totally down to play Batman again) said, Gotham embraced the ridiculousness that makes it stand out.

Would the ridiculousness work if not for how human the characters are, even despite all the bizarre shenanigans that go down around them? Would we be invested in Ed Nygma as a character after he blew up Haven if we didn’t see how he was personally devastated by the act? Would we care about Bruce’s efforts to reach out to Selina if we hadn’t seen them develop separately and as a duo over the years? Would we believe there’s hope for Barbara if all we saw was her crazy moments?

Superhero series are all the rage nowadays, but Gotham is truly unique, and not just for the absence of superpowers. When something wild goes down in the Arrow-verse or on DC Universe or even in non-comics TV shows, it can be a Gotham-esque moment. Gotham gets to be funny as well as intense and violent and insane. Honestly, just the way that the characters accept and expect ridiculousness in Season 5 is entertaining, especially when contrasted with the reactions of outsiders like Eduardo.

Of course, the ridiculous might take a distinctly dark turn coming up, what with Eduardo going full Bane, and we already know that Bane is going to do something awful to one of the good guys, although perhaps not the good guy that comics fans expect. Eduardo already revealed his true loyalties are not with Jim in the latest episode, and he used the tech implanted in Ed’s brain (courtesy of Dr. Strange) to send Ed to hunt down Jim.

While the most immediate threat seems to be Bane, there’s another problem that will probably lead to a lot of death and destruction. Despite Selina stabbing Jeremiah repeatedly earlier in Season 5, he only faked his death, and he’s up to some new and sinister tricks with Ecco at his side as Gotham’s take on Harley Quinn. Will he go full Joker before the series ends?

We’ll have to wait and see. New episodes of Gotham air Thursdays at 8 p.m. ET on Fox this midseason.

Ben Affleck may have been the latest live action, cinematic Batman, but since 2014, David Mazouz has been playing a young Bruce Wayne on the TV series Gotham. Although viewers have watched Bruce learn the necessary skills to combat the forces of evil in his hometown over nearly half a decade, it’s only in the Gotham series finale later this year that we’ll finally get to see Mazouz portray Batman. However, Mazouz is interested in reprising the Caped Crusader in a theatrical movie, although he acknowledged that physically, he'd need to wait several years to do so. In his words:

David Mazouz will be voicing Batman in the Gotham series finale, and his face will be the one seen under the cowl, but when it came to physically portraying the Caped Crusader, a 6’4’’ actor was brought in to wear the costume. So when it comes to playing Batman proper in a movie, as Mazouz told CinemaBlend’s own Nick Venable at the TCA winter press tour, he’s not quite there yet, though he is game to take on the mantle of Gotham City’s shadowy vigilante again when he’s older and physically more fit for the role.

It is worth mentioning that with Ben Affleck having officially retired as Batman, director Matt Reeves is looking for a younger actor to play The Batman’s eponymous role. However, since he’s only just turning 18 later this month, Mazouz is almost certainly too young to be considered for the job, even if he were the right height. Plus, Reeves is also reportedly looking for a “big name actor” to play the new Batman, undoubtedly meaning someone who’s well-known around the movies realm, a level Mazouz hasn’t reached just yet.

For now, though, we still have a little more time left with David Mazouz’s iteration of Bruce Wayne on Gotham, with Season 5 hitting the halfway point next week. As for his post-Gotham career, the actor also talked about what kind of project he’d like to work on next. He stated:

Along with his five seasons on Gotham, David Mazouz’s credits also included co-starring alongside Kiefer Sutherland in the TV series Touch, and movies like The Darkness and Incarnate. Regarding The Batman, Matt Reeves is looking to tell a noir story that highlight Bruce Wayne’s detective skills, and the movie will feature a “rogues gallery,” with The Penguin strongly rumored to appear.

You can see David Mazouz’s final episodes of Gotham Thursdays at 8 p.m. EST/PST on Fox. As for Batman’s future on the big screen, stay tuned to CinemaBlend for more updates on how Matt Reeves’ The Batman is coming along, and be sure to look through our DC movies guide to learn what else is in development for the DC Extended Universe.

When Gotham first kicked off in 2014, few elements within the show were as instantly believable and enjoyable as the relationship between David Mazouz's tragedy-stricken Bruce Wayne and Sean Pertwee's gruffly stoic Alfred Pennyworth. This week marked the beginning of the end of the two characters' relationship, as Mazouz shared a heartfelt post celebrating the two actors' final days working together.

Those are powerful words from the still-youthful David Mazouz, who truly does come off as one of the more professional and sure-footed "child" actors on television these days. Perhaps that came from years of playing a billionaire proto-playboy as Bruce Wayne, whose behavior almost always needed to be overtly serious and carefully manicured in front of others.

Or perhaps it came from years of working with Sean Pertwee, a British actor who always looks like he's got every situation under control. (Even in Dog Soldiers, somehow.) Mazouz and Pertwee have seemingly maintained as close a relationship over the years as Bruce and Alfred have themselves, with the elder actor taking on something of a fatherly and mentor-esque role. So I'm betting their relationship has done more for Mazouz's own personality than Bruce has.

Let's all be thankful that David Mazouz and Sean Pertwee's close ties aren't directly reflective of Bruce and Alfred's, since those two characters can occasionally be at major odds with one another. Sometimes Alfred can be a little strict, and sometimes Bruce will just straight up stab Alfred to death at the behest of an immortal villain. You know, typical shit.

You can take a look at David Mazouz's Instagram post below.

David Mazouz also recently shared pics of himself next to Sean Pertwee as the Gotham cast was taking on the show's final script table-read. It's clear that saying goodbye to Gotham is a hard maneuver for the actor, who experienced his teen years as one of fiction's most popular characters. It'll be very interesting to see where his career takes him next, especially after audiences get to finally see him rocking a proper Batsuit.

We don't have too much longer to wait to finally get our eyes back on the chaos reigning in Gotham for its fifth and final season. Bane and all the rest will arrive on Fox on Thursday, January 3, at 8:00 p.m. ET. Keep your TV viewing habits strong until then by staying current with the fall TV premieres and the upcoming midseason debuts.

San Diego Comic-Con introduced the world to the very first trailer for the live-action iteration of DC Comics' Titans, and all anybody could talk about afterward was that crazy moment where Robin is taking on a group of criminals asking about the Caped Crusader, and he answers with a big ol' "Fuck Batman." That obviously wasn't going to go over well with everyone, and future-Batman himself, Gotham star David Mazouz, had an amusing response to the Boy Wonder's F-bomb.

David Mazouz didn't have any Batarangs or knockout pellets handy, so thankfully things didn't come to a brutal head. Well, okay, not that things would have gotten bloody anyway, since the Gotham teen was being completely tongue-in-cheek when delivering that response to Syfy. But his point was certainly valid, since no one but the slimiest and most dishonorable Gotham City criminals should be using that kind of language to describe the magnificence that is Batman.

To be fair, when Titans kicks off, it's presumed that Brenton Thwaites' Dick Grayson will have become the super-team's leader after going through some major drama with his former mentor and father figure Bruce Wayne, leading to their split. (Fans shouldn't expect to see Batman popping up on Titans, but we're still hoping for some fun easter eggs that don't necessarily disparage the Dark Knight.) So Robin almost definitely has some justified motivations for talking crap about Batman to anyone who'll listen, but it's still a pisser to see in action.

Meanwhile, David Mazouz will presumably never get to work with a nice or a douchey Robin while portraying his version of Bruce Wayne. Considering Gotham is ending after Season 5, which will reportedly be half the size of a normal season, there simply isn't enough time to shoehorn Dick Grayson into the story, even though the Flying Grayson family had indeed been previously introduced. So for this to be the first feedback he gets from a live-action Robin character, it will hopefully just add more vigor to his performance for Season 5, in which he'll finally get to grasp the Batman mantle. And nobody better F-bomb him about it.

You can watch David Mazouz's response in the clip below.

Though the two characters will never meet, David Mazouz's Bruce can be seen next on Gotham Season 5 when it hits Fox next year. Meanwhile, Brenton Thwaites' Robin will take over TV when Titans makes its debut on the DC Universe streaming service at some point in 2018, with a proper release yet to be announced. Check out all the new shows heading to DC Universe, and then jump over to our summer premiere schedule to see what other new and returning shows are on the way.

This year, Gotham was sadly missing from the events of San Diego Comic-Con, since the Fox drama is just going into production this week on its fifth and final season, which is set to debut in 2019. Thankfully, though, Bruce Wane himself David Mazouz was on hand to offer a few clues about what we can expect to see as the show heads for its conclusion. The star confirms that Catwoman and Batman will both finally appear, and in speaking to how the GCPD's failures lead to Batman's arrival, Mazouz seems to hint at the legitimate emergence of The Joker himself. Or maybe not... In his words:

Let's take a step back here, just to look at everything from a big-picture perspective. Gotham has been inching its way down the Joker trail ever since Season 1, when Cameron Monaghan was first introduced as Jerome Valeska. After resurrections and facial reconstruction and more, Jerome was killed off and replaced by his far more pathological brother Jeremiah, who lacks his sibling's high-pitched cackles. But we already knew that Jeremiah and Bruce weren't on good terms with each other in the end, so it wouldn't be much of a tease to say that they'll butt heads again. But since Gotham's producers have stated the Valeska brothers would be highly influential to the Clown Prince of Crime in this version of Gotham City, perhaps Jeremiah's reign of terror will come to a pasty-faced conclusion in the wildest way possible.

With the various Joker projects in development for the big screen, Gotham's lack of a proper Joker has been partially fueled by DC and Warner Bros. not wanting to use the character across multiple platforms, similar to how Arrow wasn't able to use Harley Quinn when the Suicide Squad movie was going into development. So it's possible that Gotham still isn't able to use the name "Joker" to refer to its maniacal villain, which is where the Mr. J moniker would get play.

Unfortunately, David Mazouz didn't elaborate to TVLine what the "J" stands for, so it could technically stand for Judson Caspian, a brutal vigilante baddie who targets and murders juvenile delinquents. Or maybe it'll be Jason Todd, although that explanation would take way more story alterations than the ones done with Jerome and Jeremiah.

With more villains like Man-Bat making a home for themselves in Gotham City, Gotham will bring Season 5 to fans when it premieres on Fox in 2019. While waiting to see where things go next, head to our summer premiere schedule for all the other new and returning shows.

Gotham has spent its four seasons on the air so far introducing some of the biggest and baddest villains of Batman lore, although always with enough twists that even the most diehard DC Comics fans can't guess what's going to happen. The show seemed to introduce a young version of the Joker way back in Season 1 with Jerome Valeska, as played brilliantly by Cameron Monaghan. The actor nailed everything from the creepy grin to the maniacal laugh that we've come to expect of the Joker, and fans have naturally speculated that Jerome really is going to be Gotham's version of the Joker. Now, David Mazouz (who plays the young Bruce Wayne on Gotham) has debunked that theory and indicated that the real Joker is on the way:

Jerome Valeska is not the Joker, despite the grin and the cackle and the years of speculation that he is truly destined to become the Clown Prince of Crime. Gotham has apparently been playing it straight all along that Jerome is influencing other bad guys in Gotham to embrace their darker sides. David Mazouz debunked the Joker theory during a chat on the Discussing Film podcast, but he also seemed to indicate that we won't be waiting too much longer to discover how the real Joker comes to be. After all, Mazouz didn't refer to when or if the Joker will appear; instead, he commented on the way the characters comes into the show. The Joker may be making his first appearance sooner rather than later.

Interestingly, Cameron Monaghan himself seemed to confirm that the Joker will debut in the not-too-distant future on Gotham. He took to social media to respond to David Mazouz' comments about Jerome and the introduction of the Joker. The post on Twitter has since been taken down, which may been the biggest clue that the Joker really is on the way courtesy of a story involving Bruce and Jerome. Monaghan may have taken it down (or been asked to take it down) if it seemed too spoiler-y to be public at this point. The original tweet (via ComicBook.com) from Monaghan said this:

All signs point toward a new twist on the classic Joker origin story that nevertheless does justice to the comics source material. Jerome won't be the Joker, but he'll evidently be heavily involved in the story that produces the Joker. It should be fun to see if Jerome and the new Joker are able to co-exist. The Joker obviously won't die, and it would be a shame to lose Cameron Monaghan as a villain. Even if he's not the Joker, that laugh of his is scary enough that he should stick around for the long term, if not as a regular.

Only time will tell how the Joker will emerge in the second half of Season 4. Unfortunately, Fox has not yet announced a midseason premiere date for Gotham in 2018. Stay tuned to CinemaBlend for the latest in superhero news, and don't forget to take a look at our midseason TV premiere schedule for your viewing options while we wait for more Gotham.

If Gotham City and Central City had a contest about which place has worse crime, nobody would want to judge it. But at least The Flash's home has a squad of brainiacs and super-powered folks aiding the local P.D., while Gotham only has/had Bruce Wayne's proto-Batman temporarily stalking criminals. Though Bruce is currently living it up as a non-crimestopping schmuck, actor David Mazouz has a pretty good (if almost entirely non-feasible) idea for how a crossover with The CW's Flash could help things out.

Let's push aside all of the understanding that Gotham and The Flash would have to jump through some major hoops in order to make a crossover happen -- although that Fox and Disney deal is a similar kind of unprecedented scenario that helps crossovers happen -- and let's just focus on why David Mazouz's idea is cool. In the first place, the Gotham star was quick to say to ComicBook.com that the crossover would need to happen on the Fox series, which would presumably mean that any timeline hiccups caused by Barry's time-travel shenanigans would be tethered to Gotham and wouldn't carry over into the Arrow-verse. That distinction, I believe we all know, is the main reason why Barry should ever be able to use time travel again, since it never, ever, ever goes well.

Giving Gotham a "Flashpoint" episode would also be interesting because...well...it would be Gotham's version of a "Flashpoint" episode, and there are few things in life more deliciously intriguing than "Gotham's version of __." The show often takes on well-known DC comic characters and situations, but it almost always adds a ridiculously enjoyable spin to them that Gotham has totally earned over the years. With the Thomas Wayne-as-Batman angle theoretically not on the table, there are plenty of bizarre ways for the Waynes' short-term survival to affect Gotham City.

If Thomas Wayne had lived, then his involvement with the Indian Hill facility (as well as the Court of Owls) would likely have broadened, which would be an interesting avenue for the show to go down. Similarly, Bruce wouldn't have gotten involved with Oswald, Jim or almost any of the others that he's bonded and battled with, so one wonders if he would even be interesting enough for viewers to follow. And how would it all play into Penguin's rise, Fish Mooney's fall and how the Falcone family's lives panned out?

Aside from the plot, even, it would just be fun to see Barry Allen drop a little sunshine into Gotham City, where the sun only shines when it's mean to give someone a headache. I'd love to know what Barry would think about all of Gotham's rogues, particularly Hugo Strange's monsters. But of all those sour-minded characters, I think Victor Zsasz would be the most fun to watch, since he would fit right at home in the Arrow-verse. (Incidentally, I bet Alfred and Joe would have a whale of a time together.)

So while we probably won't ever get to watch any Gotham and Flash crossovers coming around, Flashpoint-related or not, we can expect to find both shows returning to their respective time slots in 2018. Gotham returns to Fox at some point early on, while The Flash will bring its trial-based comic story to The CW on Tuesday, January 16, at 8:00 p.m. ET. To see what other new and returning shows are coming to the small screen soon, head to our midseason premiere schedule.

Spoilers ahead for the midseason finale of Gotham. If you haven't watched the latest episode, you may want to check out one of our other stories.

It's an exciting week for avid TV fans, as many shows are airing their midseason finale, ahead of the winter hiatus. Fox's Batman prequel Gotham was no exception, as "Queen Takes Knight" brought the first half of the season's conflicts to a boil, while also setting up what will happen in the show's next set of episodes. One of the biggest cliffhanger moments of the episode featured the return of fan favorite Jerome. The show's answer to the Joker will be interacting with The Penguin from within Arkham Asylum, and series star David Mazouz (aka Bruce Wayne) recently teased the anarchy that the villain will be bringing to the back half of Season 4 when he inevitably escapes the Asylum.

This is equal parts exciting and terrifying terrifying. While his appearances in the show have been few and far between, the walking crazy that is Jerome has always resulted in massive conflicts, especially regarding Bruce Wayne. And if he's able to team up with some of the show's other villains, then there's no telling how much chaos he will bring upon Gotham City.

The last time we saw Jerome was back in Season 3, with his influence reaching more and more followers who are inspired by his anarchist ways and signature cackle. He very nearly killed Bruce Wayne, but Gordon was able to save the future Batman in the nick of time, punching Jerome's face clean off his head after the villain crudely stapled it back on (it's a long story). His face seems to be healing well from within Arkham Asylum, although he's no less creepy.

But Jerome's Season 4 conflict should be quite different from his previous goes on the prequel series. Because this time around Bruce has become a capable (albeit super moody) vigilante. This will be the closest thing we're like to see of a Joker/Batman conflict in the series. David Mazouz teased this to Comic Book, saying:

Now this is certainly exciting. Bruce has spent most of his tenure on Gotham as a relatively helpless kid, and it's going to be very satisfying for fans to see he and Jerome duke it out in a more legitimate conflict.

Gotham doesn't currently have a date for its return, but we'll be sure to update you as details become public. In the meantime, be sure to check out our midseason premiere list to plan your next binge watch, and our cancellation list to see if your favorite show got the chop.

Gotham is finally returning to the airwaves for Season 4, and it's already easy to tell that we're in for as many crazy plot twists as ever moving forward. The Season 3 finale ended without resolving the stories of many of the characters, and we've been waiting months to see what happens next. The end of the third season introduced legendary Batman bad guy Ra's al Ghul. We didn't see too much of him, as he remained in the shadows for a lot of his manipulation of Bruce Wayne. Luckily, we'll be getting a lot more of him in Season 4. When asked if Gotham's Ra's will be the most dastardly version of the character to date, David Mazouz, who plays young Bruce, had this to say:

Well, that bodes well for fans who were hoping to see Ra's al Ghul get really bad in Season 4! It bodes less well for Bruce and the people of Gotham City, but it should be exciting for us to watch. Gotham certainly isn't the first project to deliver a live-action Ra's al Ghul, as Liam Neeson tackled the role for Batman Begins and Matt Nable brought him to life on Arrow. Going by David Mazouz's comments, Alexander Siddig as Ra's al Ghul will go farther than either Batman Begins or Arrow did.

David Mazouz was evidently taken aback by some of what Gotham is getting to do with Ra's al Ghul in Season 4. As Gotham airs on Fox in an 8 p.m. time slot, there are of course limits to how dark and violent the show can get, but we've seen some spectacularly gruesome deaths over the years so far. The death of Alice Tetch alone was pretty dark for network TV. It should be interesting to see how far Gotham goes with Ra's al Ghul that so surprised David Mazouz.

David Mazouz also revealed in his chat with Rotten Tomatoes that Ra's al Ghul will be Bruce's biggest villain in Season 4, and Bruce will face a fair amount of mental torment from Ra's, even as he takes on his role as proto-Dark Knight on the streets of Gotham. Ra's won't necessarily only have a part to play in premieres and finales, as might be expected of a big bad. Bruce will have to deal with him throughout the season. It's not clear just yet if Jim Gordon will have any encounters with Ra's or if Ra's will be strictly on Bruce's radar, so we'll have to wait and see how it goes.

Thankfully, we don't have to wait any longer for Gotham to finally return to the airwaves. New episodes air on Wednesdays at 8 p.m. ET on Fox. Stay tuned to CinemaBlend for the latest in Gotham news, and be sure to check out our breakdown of 6 big things to expect from Gotham Season 4. Our fall TV premiere guide can help you plan the rest of your viewing lineup.

With three full blown cinematic comic book universes, there are superhero movies being constantly planned by the studios. As such, actors are vying for comic book roles, as these massively popular movies will bring a nice paycheck and some notoriety to even the most experienced performer. The DC Extended Universe in particular has been vaguely announcing tons of projects, although no concrete release schedule has been revealed. There seems to be a ton of Batman-focused stories in the DCEU's future, and now Gotham's own Bruce Wayne wants in on the action. Specifically, child actor David Mazouz is itching to play Bruce Wayne's assassin son Damian Wayne (aka the fifth Robin).

Well, that was easy. After a fan suggested David Mazouz would be a good fit for Damian Wayne, the Gotham actor was all too eager to express his excitement about the possibility. After all, just about everyone wants to join the DCEU at this point.

For those less familiar with Batman's comic book adventures, Damian Wayne is the son of Bruce and Talia Al Ghul in a few of the Dark Night's timelines. He was trained by Talia's League of Assassins from a very young age, making him a violent and dark young boy with a tendency for murder. Given Batman's code to never kill his enemies, this puts a great deal of tension between he and Batman when Bruce learns of Damian's existence. Eventually, he joins forces with Batman and is the fifth sidekick to take on the role of Robin. Damian is far more brutal than his predecessors, as his primary weapon is typically a katana.

While Davis Mazouz seems like a good choice for Damian in the DCEU, there would need to be a ton of exposition and set up in the next few films in order for it to make any logical sense. Talia would need to be introduced, as well as her father Ra's Al Ghul and the League of Assassins. Although Matt Reeves' Batman solo film is still very a much a mystery, so perhaps some legwork can be done in that film for Damian's appearance.

After all, not much about Bruce Wayne's tenure as Batman in the DCEU has been revealed yet. Batfleck's version in Batman v Superman was far more weathered and aged than the past big screen adaptations. As such, there are many years of Bat-history that the audience hasn't been privy to. Just about the only thing we do know is that Jason Todd was killed by The Joker and Harley some point before BvS. So perhaps the DCEU can reveal Bruce's former relationship with Talia in a flashback of sorts.

Although Damian Wayne's introduction into the DCEU seems unlikely, there does seem to be a new focus on the Batman mythos in future films. In addition to the Batman solo movie, Joss Whedon is also helming a Batgirl solo flick and there's a Nightwing movie being developed. Plus Gotham City Sirens, which will focus on the villain trio of Poison Ivy, Harley Quinn, and Catwoman-- and throw in that Joker/Harley film as well.

David Mazouz will reprise his role as Bruce Wayne in Season 4 of Gotham beginning on September 21st.

Now that Gotham is three seasons in, fans know full well the approach that showrunner Bruno Heller is taking in dispensing the Batman mythos to TV audiences, and it's quite a cacophonous approach. But while it may seem like the Fox drama is intent on only bringing out the endless line of Rogues from Batman's comic book history, actor David Mazouz has revealed that Gotham Season 4 will apparently do more than every before to introduce Bruce to his Dark Knight alter ego.

In the back half of Season 3, Gotham took definite and easily perceptible strides towards bringing Bruce closer to the vigilante persona that has served as a comic book icon for over 75 years. From his time with the Shaman that mystically helped to numb him to the pain he still felt over his parents death, to his meeting with Ra's al Ghul that caused him to straight up stab Alfred, Bruce got a lot closer to villainy than heroism, but he thankfully ended things on a positive note. The finale capped off with Bruce stopping a crime resembling his parent's murders, and then standing atop a building in a stance that Batman fans are super-familiar with.

With Bruce's personality getting muted and splintered by the Shaman, it's quite appropriate that David Mazouz told ComicBook.com that Bruce will possibly be taking on Batman as a new persona in Season 4. The actor brings up making his vigilante persona public, which could be taken in very interesting directions. Perhaps Batman won't actually be the first identity Bruce takes on in his evolution of the Dark Knight, and with him striving for something closer to Arrow's The Hood. (It would be a strange twist to see a Batman story borrowing from Arrow for once.) Or maybe the publicized Batman would be the flip side of how Jerome used cameras to make Gotham City aware of his mayhem. I'd be down with watching Mazouz cutting a bunch of WWE-esque promos calling out Gotham City's baddies.

In the not so distant past, David Mazouz wasn't so high on the idea of bringing Batman into Gotham early, or at least before there was enough time to collapse Gotham City to a point where Batman was needed. As well, it's been bandied about since the beginning that Batman's official arrival would be how the show ended. But now that's all changed, and Mazouz says he was actually worried the creative team might want to backtrack on the Bat-advances made in Season 3. In his words:

Unfortunately, there's still quite a bit of waiting to go before Bruce Wayne is back in our lives on a weekly basis, as Gotham won't return to viewers for Season 4 until Thursday, September 28, at 8:00 p.m. ET. To see what other shows are debuting and returning to TV in the coming months, head to our summer premiere schedule.

Some spoilers are lurking below for the latest episode of Gotham.

We are less than a week away from the Season 3 finale of Gotham, and fans are pumped to find out what's happening within the small horde of plot strands that have been laid out so far. We've got villains taking on villains, while former protagonists like Jim, Lee and Bruce Wayne are showcasing their more evil influences. And when star David Mazouz recently spoke with CinemaBlend, he teased that Gotham's costume designers actually have a way of tipping viewers off to what characters' motivations are. In his words:

Now, this tactic is not exactly new within the history of the visual medium, and crafting a juxtaposition between a character's look and his or her inner monologue is a tried and true technique. Still, it isn't used so ridiculously often that every single TV show or movie is automatically suspected of utilizing it, and though it arguably should have been more obvious, Gotham has apparently been embracing this tonal switcheroo for a while now without me being the wiser.

Gotham is obviously ripe for this kind of thing, too, since almost none of the characters truly exist on a plane that's either all virtuous or all destructive. Ivy is a thief with ever-questionable angles, but she's also been responsible for selflessly nursing two thought-dead characters back to health. Jim Gordon is the GCPD's star recruit, but he can hardly go three episodes without unlawfully killing someone or setting criminals up in manners outside the PD's rulebook. And when I think about it, it's hard to remember ever seeing Ben McKenzie wearing any extremely bright-colored articles of clothing. But it's very often we'll see Oswald decked out in something that would blend in with the shadows, while his genuinely criminal behavior has come up less consistently in Season 3.

During my talk with David Mazouz, he was using the costume designer explanation to talk about how Bruce's headspace has completely changed under the tutelage of the Shaman, saying that our future caped crusader is in a very dark and immoral place when the season hits the finale. (Possibly dark enough to kill someone.) That was definitely evident in the penultimate installment, "Pretty Hate Machine," when the battle-ready Bruce is able to stand up to Alfred without showing a hint of the love and devotion that the duo have for each other. That situation will just get worse, apparently, and it doesn't seem like Bruce will be changing into any black leather jackets or dark blue pajamas. Just the light sweaters and bloodstain-proof slacks for him, thanks.

Can you guys think of other examples where Gotham was on the nose with how its costumes spoke to the characters' thoughts? One has to assume that the bright green duds of The Riddler fit into this in the same way Jerome's white suit did. But what about the mostly black outfits Selina wears? Does that mean the future Catwoman will be slightly more good than bad in this version of Gotham City?

With double the pleasure and double the fun of a normal episode, Gotham's extended season finale will hit Fox on Monday, June 5, at 8:00 p.m. ET. If you need to start planning your primetime viewing for the months following all the recent finales, check out our summer premiere schedule.

I am going to say it one more time for the people in the back: we want Batman to enter the Arrow-verse! It's something that's been demanded by fans for years, and it seems like the next logical step now that we have a small screen Superman. Of course, it's no secret that logistics in this DC TV universe have prevented such an encounter from taking place, but Gotham star David Mazouz seems to think that the Arrow-verse's smart use of time travel could now make it easy for Central City characters to meet the citizens of Gotham City. The actor explained:

So we already had fans who want to see this happen, and now Bruce Wayne himself intends to see an Arrow-verse crossover at some point as well. This doesn't inherently guarantee a crossover, since finances and rights issues are a thing, but it goes a long way towards making a case for it. The folks at DC would simply need to craft a story in which Barry Allen or The Legends use their time travel abilities to go back to the non-specific era in which this particular version of Gotham City exists. From there, they can encounter Bruce Wayne and get into all sorts of wacky escapades. It's a phenomenal idea, although after Flashpoint I'm sure most people would likely want to kill Barry if he ever tried another time travel adventure.

It seems fairly obvious that the Arrow-verse has (intentionally or not) been building towards the eventual inclusion of Batman in some form or another, whether it's Gotham's take or someone else. Arrow has featured references to Oracle, NIghtwing's home turf in Bludhaven, and several iconic Batman rogues -- notably Harley Quinn. Beyond that, The Flash already confirmed that Wayne Industries exists in the Arrow-verse. With so many key pieces in place, there's no reason not to press forward with this idea...from a fan perspective.

Perhaps the most interesting aspect of David Mazouz's comments to Moviepilot about a potential Arrow-verse crossover with Gotham (during the recent Heroes & Villains Fest) is the fact that he says nothing about the multi-verse in his answer. We have operated under the assumption that FOX's version of Gotham City exists in an entirely different version of Earth than any of the Arrow-verse shows, but it seems that it may just exist in the past, which we'll go ahead and believe until Greg Berlanti & Friends say otherwise.

If that's the case, and DC ultimately decides to make Gotham City a part of The CW's Earth-1, then all of the essential pieces are already in place to make this happen. And even though Bruce isn't Batman yet, Flash could just not travel back as far as we are in the show now, so that he'd arrive after the Bat-transition already happened.

Gotham airs Monday nights at 8 p.m. EST on FOX, and the Arrow-verse shows will return to The CW this fall. If you're on the lookout for more up to date information on the rest of the highly anticipated series that will debut over the course of the next few months, take a look at our summer TV premiere guide.

Between the DCEU, MCU, and X-Men franchise, superhero properties are everywhere. And while most DC shows take place in the interconnected CW Arrowverse, FOX's Gotham lives in a world of its own. A prequel to the world of Batman as we know it, Gotham has the ability to make bold plot choices without having to worry about the comics, DCEU, or any other shows being affected. One aspect of Gotham that has been a popular subject since Season 2 is the possibility of Harley Quinn stepping onto the scene, and now one actor has revealed when we'll see everyone's favorite Batman femme fatale.

Actor David Mazouz has played Bruce Wayne since Gotham's first episode. He recently spoke to Movie Pilot about when Harley Quinn was going to join the series, and it's apparently happening very soon. He said,

Talk about a mic drop. It looks like Mr. J's main squeeze will officially join Gotham during the Season 3 finale in a few weeks time. This is sure to be a mind blowing revelation for Gotham fans, and now we have to wonder how she might make her highly anticipated entrance.

The most obvious choice is that Barbara Kean (Erin Richards) will become Harley Quinn. Barbara is the character most commonly associated with Harley, as she takes delight in mania and chaos within Gotham. Barbara has already transformed from damsel in distress, to crazypants Arkham inmate, to a more calm and calculated evil force of the city. But when I spoke with actress Erin Richards ahead of Gotham's spring premiere, she seemed to find quite a few differences between her character and Harley, particularly how Barbara is more interested in power than anarchy.

So who could become Harley? My money is on Morena Baccarin's Lee Thompkins. Furious by the untimely death of her husband, Lee has had a back season wholly focused on revenge against Jim Gordon. And with the Alice Tetch virus currently serving as a major threat, I wouldn't be surprised if Lee actually ended up injecting herself with the serum. And while it would give her enhanced abilities, Lee would also presumably lose her mind in the process. Comic Harley is typically a psychiatrist instead of a physician, but Lee's transformation into Harley would still allow the character to go from doctor to villain.

Alas, we'll just have to wait and see how it all goes down on Gotham's Season 3 finale next week. Gotham's finale will air June 5th 2017 on FOX. Wondering what to binge during the summer hiatus? Check out our summer premiere list to plan your next TV experience.

To lead an uncomplicated life is to lead a life far outside of Gotham City, where nothing is simple. Season 3 has continued expanding its myriad character connections, and it sounds like we're going to see the biggest threat yet facing the show's strongest bond, that between Bruce and Alfred. When CinemaBlend spoke with Gotham's David Mazouz about this season's final act, I asked how Bruce's time away with his Shaman mentor would affect things with Alfred, and here's what he told me:

That ties in with the earlier reports that Bruce and Alfred's tried and true kinship would be majorly tested by the introduction of the iconic Batman villain Ra's al Ghul. (Who may or may not be the Shaman.) It's a no-brainer that the boy and his butler will eventually come out of any situation still bound by devotion and loyalty, but there are an untold number of dark and damaging places that their story can (and likely will) go along the way. Even knowing their ties may never break altogether, it's just as interesting to see just how close to the edge Bruce and Alfred can get before reeling things back to a more comfortable zone.

Even with so few episodes left in the season, viewers are still only getting a small taste of what a slightly more evil version of Bruce Wayne looks like, with the Shaman's mystical lessons and fight training working to the mysterious character's advantage. The way David Mazouz put it during our chat, Bruce will be a completely different person upon returning to Gotham City, and he'll exhibit a startling lack of morals or empathy. Alfred clearly comes into play where this is concerned, since the actor says Alfred is a significant element in Bruce's return to the light side.

It sounds like there will be one particular sacrifice of sorts that Sean Pertwee's Alfred makes in the finale episodes that speaks tremendously to the character's allegiance to the Wayne family and its young heir.

To add a visual to your stoked imaginations, some of the promotional shots from the upcoming Season 3 finale really hint at the temporary chasm that shows up in Alfred and Bruce's relationship. And while we only see Alfred's shocked face in this image, it should be no mystery whose hand is holding that sword.

While Bruce and Alfred work on their personal issues, which hopefully brings that weirdo clone back into things, the rest of Gotham City is dealing with Michael Chiklis' power-mad Executioner, and you'll be able to find out what happens as Gotham closes out Season 3 over the next two Monday nights on Fox at 8:00 p.m. ET. To see what shows you'll be able to go batty over in the months beyond, head to our summer premiere schedule.

Spoilers below for the latest episode of Gotham.

It's been a rough season of Gotham for Bruce Wayne, as came face to face with the Court of Owls and his mysterious clone, he suffered the wrath of Jerome, he split ties with Selina, and he was taken against his wishes as a hostage/student of the mysterious Shaman -- or whoever he might be -- who wants to destroy Gotham City. When actor David Mazouz spoke to CinemaBlend recently about Bruce's downward spiral, he told me things are only getting way darker. But could things go so wrong that Bruce actually kills someone? It's not clear, but it sure sounds like it. In Mazouz's words:

Now, if you describe just about anyone else in Gotham City as being vulnerable and without morals, you're not going to have a hard time imagining that character committing a murder or two. This show seriously has far more leads who are guilty of killing others than those innocent of it. But again, this is Bruce Wayne we're talking about, and Batman is one of the only fictional heroes out there who has repeatedly made declarations that killing people was not his M.O. for bringing justice to the world. But let's not forget that Batman is nowhere near the events of this series yet, and Bruce Wayne is currently a teenager whose body and personality are equally malleable to those in an advantageous position. So if he's currently being developed into a Gotham-destroying warrior, how could he possibly take the city down without dropping a few bodies?

Of course, it would have been a lot cooler if David Mazouz had specifically referenced Bruce punching someone's throat out or running over a villain with a car, but we all know actors can't get quite so loose-lipped with their upcoming twists. And in any case, no one really expects Bruce Wayne to become a killing machine on Gotham, so there are other logical steps to take with that information. (Such as...well...maybe Bruce could give Jim Gordon a wicked big wedgie.) In fact, it wasn't that long ago in Season 3 when Bruce had the chance to kill his tormenter Jerome, but he refused to go down that non-retractable route.

Still, even with all the reasons against, it'd be one thing if David Mazouz had made only a passing reference to Bruce turning into a less virtuous citizen of Gotham City, but he drove that point home. It could have been passionate enthusiasm, of course, but I choose to think conspiratorially in this case. Especially since Mazouz continued down that same speculation-friendly path when talking about Bruce's current sense of "goodness."

Great deal of darkness inside or not, viewers haven't really gotten a chance to see that side of him play out in a way that affects anyone beyond himself. Sure, we know he's a depressed dude because of his parents' death and the havoc that followed, but he doesn't ever expel that darkness out into the world the same way that Penguin or even Selina does. It's apparently going to happen soon, though, and it'll probably look pretty badass, too. And my biggest question then will be the same as it is now: is Bruce going to kill someone?

With much more psychological wrangling on the way from Bruce Wayne and more, Gotham airs Monday nights on Fox at 8:00 p.m. ET. Check out Season 4's big timeslot change, and then to see what else is hitting the small screen in the near future, head to our summer TV guide.

Spoilers below for anyone who has yet to watch Gotham's latest episode, "Light the Wick."

While Jim Gordon has been dealing with the Court of Owls and their destructive plans, Gotham City's other protector Bruce Wayne is presumably on a different part of the planet right now, reluctantly following the guidance of Raymond J. Barry's mysterious Shaman. Tonight's episode of Gotham featured the elder character making a curious statement about having waited a long time to make the central setting pay. and when actor David Mazouz recently spoke with CinemaBlend, I asked him if that "long time" indicated the Shaman was an iteration of the age-defying villain Ra's al Ghul. In his words:

Interestingly, David Mazouz offered neither a confirmation nor a denial with his answer, and I appreciated what candidness he could offer at the time, considering the implications behind such a reveal. He could have just dodged it outright, but then wait, what if Gotham's creative team knows that fans are going to assume that the Shaman is Ra's al Ghul, to the point where Mazouz was allowed to give that answer to hide the actual reveal that shows Shaman and Ra's are not at all the same person? That's the kind of diabolical trickery that could only come from someone with al Ghul lineage, so clearly it's Mazouz who is the real villain lying about his name. Hmm. That's probably going too far with it, even for a show where Clayface impersonated Penguin's dead father.

Gotham previously cast Game of Thrones vet Alexander Siddig for the role of Ra's al Ghul, but I think we all know that when it comes to the leader of the League of Assassins, one visage doesn't necessarily represent them all. The Shaman's temple/palace/home is just the kind of place where walking around one corner will put someone smack in front of a Lazarus Pit, and I can't with conviction say that it's a coincidence a 78-year-old actor was cast to play the dubious mentor. (Not that Raymond J. Barry isn't as spry as anyone else on the cast.) Siddig is 51, which isn't exactly a spring chicken's age, but a 27-year difference would definitely be notable enough.

Of course, even if the Shaman himself isn't Ra's al Ghul -- and that'll rhyme with Raysh, not Rahs -- the two are almost definitely on the same side of the "give Gotham what it's got coming to it" fight, so their big impact won't be good for any of the city's population. At least the Court of Owls is looking to build things back up once their burned down, there's no guarantees that Ra's al Ghul/Shaman would allow such a thing to occur. That should make the rest of this season and then Season 4 pretty exciting. And David Mazouz also teased that Bruce's potential return to Gotham City won't necessarily be one full of heroics for the future Batman.

With lots more coming by way of Bruce Wayne and Batman's rogues gallery, Gotham airs Monday nights on Fox at 8:00 p.m. ET. (Although that won't be the case next year, as seen in Fox's 2017-2018 fall schedule.) David Mazouz also shared with us just how far Bruce will come when it comes to getting bigger and better with his fighting skills, so read up on that, and then check out our summer TV schedule to see what other shows will be hitting the small screen in the near future.

Gotham actor David Mazouz may portray one of the youngest characters in a sea of bizarre and heightened personalities, but he's the most important of them all, as his is the head that will don the cowl. Season 3 has been particularly fruitful in laying out the stepping stones for Mazouz's Bruce Wayne to reach Batman-dom, especially where his fisticuffs are concerned. The actor spoke with CinemaBlend about Bruce's journey and training sessions with the mysterious Shaman, and I was pumped to hear that the best is yet to come where fights are concerned. Is Mazouz's words:

Now, we shouldn't expect that "new person" to have a utility belt or any mammal-related vehicles, but it appears that whatever Bruce goes through while inside the Shaman's temple (or whatever) is going to put the vengeance-embracing character through one wringer of a transition before Season 4 comes around. But at least he'll be throwing uppercuts and leg-sweeping people while going through that wringer. After all, one of Gotham's best fight sequences yet was Bruce's street battle with Selina's law-skirting colleagues, which looked a lot cleaner than a lot of Jim's sloppy brawls. So if the show can manage to work more of those in while also upping the ante as Bruce's training continues, then that'll be yet another layer of enjoyment for Gotham to give fans.

Viewers have gotten a taste of where his training is going, and the Shaman seems patient to wait for Bruce to just embrace it and improve without resisting. Because of that, it's unclear just how long Bruce will be hanging around this new and completely cut-off setting, so I asked David Mazouz if we would see Bruce punching bad guys in the face back in Gotham City before the end of the season. His answer was quite intriguing, and thankfully not as puzzling as The Riddler's clues.

There are several ways to read into that, and one of them is that Bruce might not make it all the way back to his hometown this season. He's quite a distance from it right now, and even though the show hasn't referred to it directly, the mountains outside the Shaman's headquarters hints at Ra's al Ghul's stomping grounds of Nanda Parbat, so is it possible that the League of Assassins leader will be one of the criminals Bruce takes down?

In the video below, David Mazouz offers up another hint at how Bruce's current situation will heavily affect his life.

All of Bruce Wayne's friends better watch out, because a wave of destruction is coming to Gotham, which airs Monday nights at the same not-quite-bat-yet-time of 8:00 p.m. ET, on the same not-quite-bat-yet-channel Fox. To see what other new and returning shows will be putting up their dukes in the near future, head to our summer TV schedule.

After years of waiting, Gotham has finally committed to giving us one of its most highly anticipated characters. Jerome has finally become The Joker, and the results of his transformation are nothing less than terrifying. In fact, the character has even had a profound impact on actors associated with the show. Bruce Wayne actor David Mazouz recently filmed his reaction to Gotham's latest trailer, and it's clear that he's completely on board with this depiction of the Clown Prince of Crime. Check out the young actor's tweet below to see for yourself.

It's one thing to see fans get excited about a particular TV series, but it's something else to watch someone specifically associated with a series show his or her excitement. David Mazouz very clearly loves his role as Bruce Wayne on Gotham, and his enthusiasm for the show shines through in this video. He hasn't even seen the upcoming episode of the series yet, so many of the coolest elements remain a complete mystery to him, and it's a treat to watch.

I will freely admit that I was personally not a fan of Gotham when the series started. However, the increasing quality (coupled with its outlandish storylines) has made it one of the more enjoyable DC comic book adaptations on the small screen. Much of that has to do with the commitment of the actors in the starring roles, and it's pretty clear that guys like David Mazouz have a deep passion for the series.

It's worth mentioning that the dynamic between Jerome and Bruce looks as sharp as ever in this particular trailer. One thing I find specifically notable about the preview is how much DNA it shares with Alan Moore's classic The Killing Joke storyline. From Bruce and Jerome stalking each other through a hall of mirrors, to Jerome seemingly trying to break Bruce, there's a palpable sense that one of the most iconic Batman storylines of all time will eventually be filtered through the insanely bizarre Gotham lens.

We will have to wait and see how it all pans out, but I think that feels like something worth getting excited for.

CinemaBlend will bring you all of the latest and greatest Gotham news as more information becomes available to us. The Batman prequel series will air this Monday, January 30 at 8 p.m. EST on FOX. Make sure to check out our midseason premiere guide for more information concerning all of the most highly anticipated spring television debuts and fill out your TV viewing schedules accordingly!

FOX's hit show Gotham is a tricky thing. The Batman adaptation/prequel has garnered a ton of attention from comic book fans for both bringing exciting new characters to the screen, as well as not giving a crap about keeping things within the DC canon. And while some TV goers have praised Gotham for being a largely original story, many die hard DC fans have been anxious for the introduction of a full fledged Batman, Joker, Harley Quinn, and all of the other favorites. However, one Gotham actor doesn't think Batman is at all necessary. And he's playing the man in question

David Mazouz plays Bruce Wayne on Gotham, and recently opened up to Collider as to why the series doesn't need Batman at all... yet.

Touche, Bruce Wayne. I totally see David Mazouz's point regarding Batman's eventual conclusion in Gotham, although I have to wonder if his statements make much sense given Season 3's overall theme.

Obviously Batman was wholly not needed throughout most of Gotham's first two seasons. The city was full of organized crime issues and had the spare rogue every now and then, but ultimately Jim Gordon, Harvey Bullock, and the GCPD proved themselves capable enough to save the day. Batman's typical Gotham City is chock full of metahumans and rogues who are capable of really messing things up and causing catastrophes. Batman and his protegees are necessary to keep the peace, and to take care of foes who normal police officers are simply ill-equipped to take on. So yeah, he wasn't really needed during the first two seasons, and we could instead focus on the journey of a young Bruce Wayne.

But then there's Season 3. The second season ended with a freshly resurrected and super powered Fish Mooney breaking out of Indian Hill, and bringing a gaggle of dangerous monsters and former villains with her (most likely including everyone's favorite Joker-ish character Jerome). And with these metahumans and monsters now roaming Gotham City, having a certain vigilante who dresses in black would really help the situation. How exactly is the GCPD supposed to combat these monsters, especially with Jim Gordon busy investigating the Court of Owls with Bruce?

We'll just have to wait and see how the various threats to Gotham City are somehow battled during season 3. The first episode premiered last night on FOX and teased a season of pure chaos. Season 3's first half has been appropriately titled Gotham: Mad City.

Gotham is only one of many comics-based series on television nowadays, but it’s the only one that doesn’t feature superpowers or the supernatural is a big way. Luckily, the characters are interesting enough it’s never really mattered that nobody can fly or make earthquakes or run faster than speeding bullets. One character that we really haven’t gotten to see enough of has been Lucius Fox. According to David Mazouz who plays the young Bruce Wayne, there will be much more of Lucius in the not-too-distant future.

David Mazouz’s reveal to TVLine that Bruce and Lucius may be taking a trip not sanctioned by Alfred presents some exciting possibilities for the end of Season 2. Alfred always seems to find a way to either accompany or shadow Bruce to wherever he goes, so Bruce and Lucius might have to go to some serious lengths to pull one over on Alfred.

Considering that Bruce has tended to not fare very well whenever he goes on adventures without involving Alfred in the plan, his adventure with Lucius might not go as well as they hope. David Mazouz had further insight into Bruce’s mindset on the matter.

So, basically, Alfred is the overprotective father who cares more about safety than fun, and Lucius is the cool uncle who’s not quite so preoccupied with protecting his nephew. It should be interesting to see the dynamic between Bruce and Lucius contrasted with the dynamic between Bruce and Alfred. At the very least, there’s something deeply entertaining about the fact that Gotham’s latest love triangle is between Alfred, Bruce, and Lucius.

It’s hard not to feel a little bit bad for Alfred in this equation, but Chris Chalk as Lucius Fox is such a great addition to the cast of Gotham that seeing more of him is definitely worth Alfred feeling spurned for a couple of episodes. The character was made famous thanks to Morgan Freeman’s portrayal in the Dark Knight film trilogy opposite Christian Bale as the adult Bruce Wayne, but Chris Chalk is making the role his own opposite David Mazouz.

Gotham has only just returned from three months of hiatus after a killer midseason finale back in November, so news that we’ll be getting more of Lucius Fox in the rest of Season 2 is just one more reason for fans of the show to be excited. To catch more of the adventures of Bruce, Lucius, and poor Alfred, be sure to tune into Fox on Mondays at 8 p.m. ET for new episodes of Gotham.

Fox's Gotham series has found its Bruce Wayne and he's a preteen who's no stranger to the FOX network. Touch star David Mazouz has been cast to play the familiar role in the drama, which will focus on Detective James Gordon and the origin story of some of Gotham City's most infamous villains. Mazouz isn't the only younger actor to join the cast, as Gotham has also cast Selena Kyle.

Lest people react in shock that Gotham has cast a kid Batman, he's not Batman, he's young Bruce Wayne. The series's focus will be about Gordon and the villains, though Bruce Wayne will be a part of story. And casting fills in a major blank about the series, which isn't so much "Who will play Bruce Wayne?" as it is, "How old is Bruce Wayne during this time period of the story?" Barely a teenager appears to be the answer. Mazouz played Kiefer Sutherland's character's son Jake Bohm in Fox's short-lived numbers-focused drama Touch. Factoring in Mazouz's silent but expressive performance as Jake in the series, it's not hard to picture him playing a kid who's grieving the loss of his parents. According to WB's casting update, Mazouz is playing...

Serious and soulful seems right up Mazouz's alley. And it'll be great to see what kind of chemistry he has with Sean Pertwee, who's set to play Bruce's Guardian Alfred, and Ben McKenzie, who's on board to play the lead role, Detective James Gordon.

Here's a recent photo of Mazouz...

Next up, we have Selina Kyle!

The part of young Selina Kyle goes to Camren Bicondova, who's a newcomer to the acting scene, though she did appear in the musical drama Battlefield America in 2012. Selina Kyle, whom many will know better as Catwoman in her adult years, is described as:

Bicondova may be relatively new at acting, but she's no novice at dancing, which may prove to be relevant. If they're looking to cast a young actor with cat-like grace and litheness, they picked an incredibly talented girl. Check her out:

Beautiful and incredibly talented! We'll have to wait and see how she fits in as the young Selina Kyle!

Gotham is based on DC Comics characters and will explore the origin stories of James Gordon and some of Gotham's most famous villains. Bruno Heller wrote the pilot script and is on board to executive produce, while Danny cannon is set to direct/EP the pilot. In addition to Ben McKenzie, Camren Bicondova, David Mazouz and Sean Pertwee, the cast will also include Jada Pinkett Smith and Donal Logue, among others.