Gotham The Official Cameron Monaghan As Jerome Valeska/(Possibly) The Joker

[Ozbridge]

Maybe WB forced him to say that. “What we've always gone with is that Joker is somewhere out there, anonymous and unformed, in Gotham, and he's watching the actions of Jeremiah and Jerome and possibly even another one, on his way somewhere down the line, and he's adopting them as inspirations as the person he'll one day become." Word by word. Maybe he learned it by heart to say in interviews.

 

[Arachnerd]

I can't say for sure WB is entirely to blame here. Both Danny Cannon and John Stephens have been regurgitating this ideology crap for years.

This interview couldn't have come at a worse time. Astonishing poorly planned.

 

[Pennywise]

They struck gold at finding Cameron, and they'd just throw it all away, or convolute it further if he played another character.

 

[Arachnerd]

Also apparently Cameron wasn't satisfied with the interview. He posted this tweet (and deleted it shortly afterwards) a while after the IGN article was posted. Now, I can't say with 100% certainty that it was in response to John Stephens' interview, but the timing is very questionable.

If true, I seriously feel sorry for him. Seeing the BUILD interview, makes me believe there's a big disconnect between the writers & producers with Cameron and the fans of the show. What a giant clusterf***.

 

[raisethe3]

^^If that's the case, then I understand Cameron's frustration. Its disappointing.

 

[hellblazer103]

Cameron literally said on that interview that he walked out of the theater after viewing The Dark Knight and told his mom how he wished he could have a role like that one day, RIGHT after praising Hamill and the animated series even, and they do this **** to him...

 

[Pennywise]

Also apparently Cameron wasn't satisfied with the interview. He posted this tweet (and deleted it shortly afterwards) a while after the IGN article was posted. Now, I can't say with 100% certainty that it was in response to John Stephens' interview, but the timing is very questionable.

If true, I seriously feel sorry for him. Seeing the BUILD interview, makes me believe there's a big disconnect between the writers & producers with Cameron and the fans of the show. What a giant clusterf***.

I wonder if he'd come back for S5 if it gets renewed, even after being so mislead!

Not too optimistic at the moment, though.

 

[Erik Lensherr]

Various hair tests. Pure green was off-limits to us (as well as the name "Joker"), a decision from high-up as they wanted to reserve these for films. A decision which ultimately I respect. They did not want to dilute the very lucrative brand. It allowed for creativity on our end.

https://twitter.com/cameronmonaghan/status/995422386437570560

 

[NotNickFury]

Yeah, in the past few hours today, Monaghan's been sharing a lot of behind the scenes images and such on Twitter. Fun to go through and see.

 

[Astro13Zombie]

https://twitter.com/cameronmonaghan/status/995422386437570560

Glad they didn’t go with the purple hair

The Black works well without making him seem like an off brand joker

 

[Arachnerd]

Yeah, I went through them. They're pretty sweet.

Unless something happens to Jeremiah in this next episode (aka death), I'm still choosing to see Jeremiah's as Gotham's Joker in everything but name, despite John Stephens' comments. WB once again interfering with stuff they shouldn't.

 

[Ozbridge]

From Cameron’s twitter:

With John Stephens went out of the way to say Jeremiah isn’t the Joker I hope his boss at WB is convinced.

 

[Arachnerd]

Very interesting that he mentioned the 'clone'.

 

[Pennywise]

Very interesting that he mentioned the 'clone'.

I’ve always wondered if the Jerome lookalike was just an Easter egg or the producers had other plans that were scrapped.

 

[Arachnerd]

At least I like the multiple origin explanation more than the way Stephens worded it.

 

[BaelaTargaryen]

https://twitter.com/cameronmonaghan/status/996804179791265792

 

[Darkness Falls]

he was fantastic again

 

[Arachnerd]

Shame we saw most of his scenes in the promos/trailers. :/

 

[Arachnerd]

Spoiler

 

[ironman29758]

This is still frustrating:
Jeremiah Will Return and Evolve Again on Gotham

By Megan Vick | Jan 19, 2019 10:30 AM EST
Gotham teased a big comeback for Jeremiah (Cameron Monaghan) this season, and this week we were gifted almost an entire hour dedicated to the following he's building, but we are now three episodes into the show's final season and haven't actually seen the return of the prodigal son of madness. Luckily, the wait is almost over.

"We'll start to see Jeremiah pretty much the next episode," executive producer John Stephens confirms for TV Guide. "We start to understand that he's doing a larger plot that's going on, but we will see him the next episode and then carry through."

That larger plot will lead to another big move for Jeremiah, as well as another step in his evolution as one of Batman's biggest foes. However, we will not see him identify as the villain we all know him to be.

"You never see a full transformation into the Joker, but you do see another transformation," Stephens says. "Jeremiah undergoes another evolution in his character to become another amalgam of Jeremiah and Jerome that I think audiences are gonna look at and say, 'If it's not the Joker then it's definitely an antecedent or a proto-Joker that lives there."
First, though, Jeremiah must throw down with Selina (Camren Bicondova) after he shot her in the Season 4 finale, which left her paralyzed for a few weeks. She would have stayed that way if Bruce (David Mazouz) hadn't bargained with Poison Ivy (Peyton List) to find a cure. Now, Selina is on the hunt for Jeremiah and her thirst for revenge will have major consequences.

"I think [Selina] absolutely holds her own [against Jeremiah]. I think she more than holds her own," Stephens teases. "I think she's so driven by the pain of revenge and what happened to her at the end of last season that it drives her to commit an act which then haunts her for the rest of the season."

So, it looks like there's an evolution in the works for both of these iconic Batman characters.

Gotham continues Thursdays at 8/7c on Fox.

So after all that is said and done Jeremiah still is being beat around the bush as a Joker. Hopefully it changes by the time the finale.

 

[Pennywise]

'Gotham' Showrunner Says Cameron Monaghan's Third Character Has Even More "Joker Elements"

The end of Gotham is in sight, and with just a handful of episodes left in the Batman prequel series, many of the characters we've come to love over the past few years are finally evolving into their older, more realized counterparts from the pages of DC Comics. When Jerome Valeska paved the way for his twin brother Jeremiah last season, it seemed as though Gotham finally had it's final version of the iconic Joker character, but that's not exactly the case.

As it turns out, actor Cameron Monaghanwill be playing one more character before the show is through, evolving past Jeremiah into yet another psychotic villain. Third time must be a charm, because this new character will have even more recognizable Joker elements that neither Jerome nor Jeremiah possessed.

After Monaghan revealed that he'd be taking on a third Joker-esque role, ComicBook.com spoke with Gothamshowrunner John Stephens about what this means for Monaghan's pantheon of characters going forward.

"One of the themes of the show has always been about the evolution of identity and how fluid it is," Stephens explained. "And how people can always change themselves from one identity to another. Those obvious examples are obviously like Bruce Wayne, Batman, that view of the world. One of the things we like to do on the show is take that theme and see how it plays out in different fashions with different characters. So, especially with Cameron Monaghan's character, first with Jerome and then to Jeremiah, then from Jeremiah to this new character. Obviously, we were always saying that this character is not the Joker but we were always saying what are different elements of the Joker that we can actually use and bring out and develop? Weighing the way you can look at and say, hey, this character may not be the Joker but we can imagine how this character could have lead to a character like the Joker, down the road somewhere.

"So, to that I want to say, there are some elements, I'd say, of the character of the Joker himself that we see down the road that have not been present so far, either in Jerome or in Jeremiah. But those elements and characters are present in the new iteration of Jeremiah that comes out."

Monaghan may never get the official "Joker" title on Gotham but, by the time the credits role on the series finale, it sounds like he will have brought just about every part of the real Joker to life. That's certainly close enough in our book.

Ugh, John Stephens frustrates me!

 

[Arachnerd]

Again, either the WB suits are twisting his arm or he's completely and stupidly ignorant.

 

[Pennywise]

New interview with Cameron where he talks about Gotham a bit! Not much we haven’t heard, but still pretty cool!


Cameron Monaghan on the future of his character on 'Gotham' and what we thought was his last scene on 'Shameless'

I have to start with “Gotham” because I’m talking to you just after the episode aired where it looks like Jeremiah’s a goner. What does this mean for your character?


A: As was revealed in (the most current) episode, he does not die — even though he fakes his death as a little bit of a psychological play. So the next episode we’ll see what he’s up to and his grand scheme, which is really fun. Now we’re sort of getting the actual mechanisms in place that will set up the rest of the season for Jeremiah.

Q: There was a recap that made the hilarious observation that as Jeremiah was being stabbed, Selina got “extra stabby” when you started bantering with her as she was trying to kill you. That’s emblematic of the show: Dark, funny, over-the-top, super dramatic. Is that what initially drew you to the show?

A: When I was offered the role of Jerome I hadn’t really heard of it, I think it had just started airing, so I said, “Send over the script, it sounds interesting and I like Batman stuff.”

I was coming out of an audition for something else when I stopped to look at the script in the car and when I got to that last interrogation scene I was like: OK, I know exactly what this is! That scene is a Joker reference and it’s such a fun power play, that shift in dynamic where he owns the room.

And I called my agent and my manager right then and was like, “Forget about this audition I just went on, don’t worry about it — I want to do this. This is awesome.” So I did that one episode. And I didn’t know if I was going to be back to do more.

Cameron Monaghan as the man who would become The Joker in "Gotham." (Fox)
Q: For all you knew, it could have been a one-off.

A: I’m pretty sure it originally was planned to be just a one-off. But that scene ended up going kind of viral and people really responded to it.

Q: I think that happened in part because the Joker is such an iconic character, and since “Gotham” is really the origin story of Batman and all the characters in his world, how fun to see the hint of what’s to come with the Joker.

A: Absolutely. He’s considered one of the greatest villains of the 20th and 21st centuries and for very good reason. He’s one of the most iconic antagonists in all of American fiction.

I think initially the plan for “Gotham” was to dance around that a little bit more. They were going to just have a lot of different hints of who was going to end up becoming “this” but never really getting to into it. But the fans reacted strongly and everyone desires this story. If you’re going to tell a story that’s ancillary or surrounding Batman, you kind of have to explore something with the Joker as well.

I think that’s part of the fun. It’s such a convoluted way to tell the story and I think that actually ends up kind of working for what the Joker is. The Joker’s background should be confusing and absurd and weird and ridiculous. If any of the citizens of Gotham were trying to piece together what the hell has been happening with this guy, it would be like: Wait, what’s going on?!

Q: So first you were playing Jerome. Then it was his twin brother Jeremiah. What are the chances there’s a third brother named Jerald?

A: There’s no third brother! But there is a third permutation of the character, I guess you could say.

Cameron Monaghan on "Gotham." (Fox)
For me, it’s a logical next step and it kind of encapsulates the different dynamics of all these different variations. Even with Jerome, he had so many levels of reinvention, and then with Jeremiah too, he’s reinvented himself a few times. And what we see in this final third version is the mixing pot of everything coming together — but now with this added spice of the insanity thrown on top of it. So I actually am interested in what people will think of this third one.

So there’s no Jerald, but I think for me personally this is the most fun I’ve had with him.

Can’t wait to see the final version!

 

[hellblazer103]

This is still frustrating:
Jeremiah Will Return and Evolve Again on Gotham



So after all that is said and done Jeremiah still is being beat around the bush as a Joker. Hopefully it changes by the time the finale.

Oh come tf on man. Just keep Jeremiah and don't call him Joker, that's all they have to ****ing do. It's not complicated. We get it, he can't be called Joker, whatever.... Then don't. But he IS the Joker of this show to a lot of people and that's all that should matter ffs. I guess they're doing the clone bull**** after all.

 

[Pennywise]

'Gotham' EP Ensures Batman Moment Won't Be Like 'Smallville's Superman

This isn't the first time that someone involved with Gotham has mentioned a full-on Batman episode at the end of the series. Cameron Monaghan, who plays Bruce Wayne's rival Jeremiah Valeska, recently noted that the finale will have everything we've been waiting for.

"I will say we’ve been given certain liberties in this final season that we haven’t been given before that’s going to make itself pretty apparent as you watch it," Monaghan said. "All I’ll say is when you have an episode that’s a full-on Batman episode running around in the future, you’re going to have characters that you’ll expect to see. I don’t think it’s a spoiler to say at this point that it’s 10 years in the future — that’s been talked about openly by the producers and showrunners – I don’t want to say exactly what my role in that is, but it was kick ass. It’s one of the coolest opportunities I’ve ever had."

Yup, I think he will be the Joker, but won’t be referred to by name as others have mentioned!