While we’ve seen both Jerome and Jeremiah evolve into characters who could quite easily be The Joker, that name hasn’t been specifically mentioned and there is actually a reason behind it. Neither of these two were ever once seriously considered to be the Clown Prince of Crime for ‘Gotham’. While that may seem hard to believe with their traits and every other member of Batman’s rogue gallery trying to make an appearance, the actual Joker has yet to be revealed and likely will never be.
The news came from both Cameron Monaghan who played the characters everyone thought would one day evolve into Batman’s nemesis as well as John Stephens who is a producer for the series.
What it boils down to isn’t that the series didn’t want Monaghan to become The Joker but that the DC Extended Universe said it just wasn’t allowed:
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. pic.twitter.com/pSlacSUTjU
— Cameron Monaghan (@cameronmonaghan) May 12, 2018
Sad news for fans who felt we were finally getting a compelling origin story for the character. Not only that, but when Stephens weighed in he both confirmed what Monaghan had said and also hinted that the pair were influencing whoever would eventually wear the clown shoes:
“The other characters are who they are. Mad Hatter, Scarecrow, etcetera. But no, he isn’t the Joker. 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.”
I almost feel that The Joker using these two as a guide to what he wants to become almost cheapens the character and am not thrilled with the direction that they’re taking him because of that. Just another example of something that has gone wrong thanks to the DCEU.
Are you annoyed that Cameron Monaghan will never be the Clown Prince of Crime? Do you buy into this character influencing the real Joker or is this taking away from one of the greatest villains of all time? Share your thoughts below!
