One of the more surprising creative decisions made for
Gotham's third season was the supernatural aging of "Ivy Pepper" (the young
Poison Ivy) into a mature version of the character that's more akin to her comic counterpart. While the show will explain the change through the use of one of
Hugo Strange's monsters, executive producer Ken Woodruff has provided a more in-depth explanation as to why the team decided on altering Ivy.
"We made the change for two reasons: The character Ivy in the comics, one of her greatest powers is the power of seduction," Woodruff told
The Hollywood Reporter.
"Everyone was much more comfortable with that with an older actress as opposed to a teenager. We want to explore that classic, canonical power of Ivy. And we didn't just make her older with that attack. When she's changed and transformed, there's a real character change as well. She'll still have some of the same traits, but she'll be much darker, more manipulative than the Ivy we've seen so far. There's a more evil quality to her as well. It's more than just physical."
Maggie Geha, who plays the newly mature Ivy, also shared her thoughts on her character's transformation in an interview with
TV Guide, suggesting that not all of "Little Ivy" has been erased.
"Ivy has been reborn, and she is completely different, on the inside as well as out. Ivy's main passion in life is plants and nature. She doesn't have any real regard for people. She still has a little bit of the Little Ivy in her; she's not completely-completely changed. I think that Little Ivy is sort of relishing in the physical transformation and realizing all the power that she now has and what she can do to people and how she can manipulate people. She's definitely transforming into a darker version of herself."
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