Gotham: It’s official, Jerome is NOT the Joker!
By Jeremy Dick
Despite the heavy similarities and the fan theories for years insisting Jerome is the Joker on Gotham, producers have verified they are NOT the same person.
To be the Joker, or not to be the Joker? For fans of Gotham, that seems to be the question…
Ever since Cameron Monaghan was introduced onto Gotham as murderous villain Jerome Valeska, the ongoing theory was he’d be revealed to be the Joker. It’s obvious when you watch any of his scenes. He speaks like the Joker, has the same mannerisms and dark sense of humor, and to be frank, he looks a hell of a lot like him, sans makeup. Seemingly, all he needed was to become a clown for the transformation to be complete.
But, apparently, the similarities between Jerome and the Joker will end up being nothing more than coincidence. FlickeringMyth has quoted Gotham producer Bryan Wynbrandt as confirming that these two villains are definitely not the same person. Wynbrandt says that Jerome is merely an homage to the Clown Prince of Crime:
"“He’s obviously not the Joker himself, although we clearly seems to be the impetus that eventually creates the Joker. The more that we see him, the more he carves out his own path I’d say. I wouldn’t say he becomes more the Joker, but the Jerome character continues to evolve.”"
Wynbrandt adds that the character is just so “iconic” to Batman that they didn’t think they’d ever get to incorporating him. So the middle ground seems to be bringing in a character that’s a lot like the Joker, but not actually him.
Gotham airs every Thursday night on FOX.