‘Gotham’ Producer Confirms Joker Introduction Later This Season

FOX’s ‘Gotham’ will set up yet another Batman villain with tonight’s “The Fearsome Dr. Crane,” but it seems as if the most famous Bat-baddie of all may have his arrival scheduled even sooner than expected. Find out how ‘Gotham’ plans to introduce the Joker before season 1's end, straight from the executive producer himself!

Don’t bother scratching your head as to how ‘Gotham’ could plausibly incorporate the Joker while Batman himself doodles about his parents’ murder from within the cozy caverns of Wayne Manor, as we may only get a taste of the character to start. And while executive producer Bruno Heller claimed from the start that season 1 would feature multiple possibilities of Joker teases, the ‘Gotham’ head tells TVGuide the timetable seems to have been moved up within the first season:

We’ve said you’re going to be waiting a bit longer for it, but this is America – nobody wants to wait. So, we will scratch the surface of that story, yes. But just scratch it – a little tap on the door.

Of course, fan theories have run the gamut anywhere from Fish Mooney, Penguin or Edward Nygma turning out to be the FOX drama’s incarnation of the Joker, so Heller’s words may yet prove maddeningly cryptic. Additional DC characters welcomed in the coming ‘Gotham’ weeks will include ‘The Amazing Spider-Man 2’ star Colm Feore as an incarnation of DC’s Dollmaker, “Scarecrow” Gerald (and his son Jonathan) Crane, the villainous Red Hood gang (which themselves have served as Joker origins in the books),  as well as Dick Grayson’s parents.

We’ll be back later tonight with a look at “The Fearsome Dr. Crane” but what say you? Are you excited to see how ‘Gotham’ teases the Joker in its first season? How might the Clown Prince of Crime work in a world where Batman remains years away from his true beginning? Check out a plethora of clips below, and give us your thoughts in the comments!