The final season of the hit prequel Gotham is nearly upon us, and we have our first batch of stills for the season premiere "Year Zero". The series' fifth outing will focus on Bruce Wayne's transformation into Batman, after the city is shut off by the government and supervillains battle for territory in its ruins. The photos reveal Oswald Cobblepot/The Penguin (Robin Lord Taylor) engaged in a gang war with Barbara Kean (Erin Richards), while the remainder of the GCPD tries to maintain control, Bruce Wayne (David Mazouz) resumes his vigilante activities from the previous season, and Scarecrow (David W. Thompson) and his cronies are up to no good.
This season will take inspiration from Batman: No Man's Land and Batman: Zero Year, with the series jumping ten years into the future in the finale. Among the new villains that will be making their debut include Eduardo Dorrance/Bane (Shane West), Man-Bat, Lady Shiva, Mother and Orphan, Magpie, and the Mutant Leader. Batman will wear a matte metallic short-eared battlesuit that executive producer John Stephens says is closer to the Dark Knight Rises costume than the Ben Affleck one.
Jeremiah Valeska/Proto-Joker (Cameron Monaghan) will have a recurring guest spot this season, but interestingly, has been debunked as being the final character who ultimately becomes the Joker. As Stephens told IGN, "Jeremiah is not the Joker. What we've always gone with is that Joker is somewhere out there, anonymous and unformed, and he's watching the actions of Jeremiah and Jerome and possibly even another one, and he's adopting them as inspirations as the person he'll one day become." Monaghan also called Jeremiah's final scene on the show "vile, vicious, nightmare-fuel horror." Ace Chemicals will play a major role in Season 5 Episode 7, aptly titled "Ace Chemicals".
THE RESURRECTION OF GOTHAM CITY ON THE ALL-NEW SEASON PREMIERE OF "GOTHAM" THURSDAY, JANUARY 3, ON FOX
Jim Gordon and Bruce Wayne face the chaos Gotham City has become. Their mission to keep the city safe becomes more complicated as the villains who survived the attack on the city begin to resurface and claim various territories. Meanwhile, Selina Kyle grapples with how to deal with her uncertain future in the all-new "Year Zero" season premiere episode of GOTHAM airing Thursday, Jan. 3 (8:00-9:00 PM ET/PT) on FOX. (GTH-501) (TV-14 L, V)
Cast: Ben McKenzie as Detective James Gordon, Donal Logue as Detective Harvey Bullock, Morena Baccarin as Dr. Leslie Thompkins, Sean Pertwee as Alfred Pennyworth, Robin Lord Taylor as Oswald Cobblepot/The Penguin, Erin Richards as Barbara Kean, David Mazouz as Bruce Wayne, Camren Bicondova as Selina Kyle/the future Catwoman, Cory Michael Smith as Edward Nygma/The Riddler, Jessica Lucas as Tabitha Galavan, Chris Chalk as Lucius Fox
Guest Cast: David W. Thompson as Scarecrow, Kelcy Griffin as Det. Harper, Hunter Jones as Will Thomas, Jamie Murray as Walker
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