Over the weekend, Bleeding Cool posted some images from the pilot episode of FOX’s Gotham, showing a stand-up comedian (played by relative unknown Jon Beavers) who the site speculated could potentially be our first look at the future Joker.
If you’ve been following the development of the Batman prequel series, then you may be aware that executive producers Bruno Heller and Danny Cannon have suggested that we’ll see a few red herrings before we discover the real Clown Prince of Crime, and if the latest rumour from Bleeding Cool is to be believed, we’ll be getting a possible Joker in each episode of the season.
According to the site, “every episode in the first season will introduce a character that might be a future Joker, each emphasising aspects of the character’s iconography, a card sharp, a flower seller, a clown, or just a guy with a very big grin. All relatively unknown actors. All potentially a Joker. But only one of them being the actual Clown Prince Of Crime. Get ready to be Joker-teased on a weekly basis…”
So, if true, what do you make of that, and do we even need to explore the origin of The Joker?
Gotham is set to premiere on Monday, September 22nd, with a cast that includes Ben McKenzie (The O.C.) as Detective Jim Gordon, Sean Pertwee (Dog Soldiers) as Alfred Pennyworth, Donal Logue (Sons of Anarchy) as Harvey Bullock, newcomer Camren Bicondova as Selina Kyle, David Mazouz (Touch) as Bruce Wayne, Robin Lord Taylor (Another Earth) as Oswald Cobblepot, Cory Michael Smith (Olive Kitteridge) as Edward Nygma, Jada Pinkett Smith (The Matrix) as Fish Mooney, Clare Foley (Sinister) as Ivy Pepper, Zabryna Guevara (The Guilt Trip) as Detective Essen, Victoria Cartagena (Salt) as Renee Montoya, Andrew Stewart Jones (The Tomorrow People) as Crispus Allen, Erin Richards (Being Human) as Barbara Kean, Drew Powell (Malcolm in the Middle) as Butch Gilzean, Kyle Massey (That’s So Raven, Cory in the House) as Macky and Carol Kane (Annie Hall) as Gertrud Kapelput. Watch the first trailer here.
Originally published July 16, 2014. Updated January 18, 2020.
