‘Gotham’s Batman Will (Sort of) Be Played by David Mazouz

Batman is coming to Gotham sometime in the next couple of months, finally bringing an end to the prequel saga that began on FOX more than five years ago. During the show’s final TCA presentation on Wednesday, TV critics and journalists got their first look at the soon-to-be Dark Knight of Gotham, which revealed an interesting twist in regards to who will be playing the role.

While David Mazouz has played young Bruce Wayne throughout the entire series, many have wondered if the actor would be able to fill out the suit once it finally arrived, given that he’s smaller in stature than the typical Batman. Well, the answer to that question is no, Mazouz isn’t big enough, which is why he won’t be in the Batsuit. However, he will still be playing Batman, in a way.

Yes, that’s a little confusing on the surface, but showrunner John Stephens explained during the presentation exactly how it will work. He pointed out that the suit was made for someone with a much larger frame, who is over six feet tall. That’s not David Mazouz. There will be another, bigger person inside the suit following the time jump in the series finale. However, Mazouz will still be the voice you hear, and the face beneath the cowl. So Mazouz will get to take on the role he’s spent the entirety of his teenage years preparing for, while fans will also get to see the Batman they know and love. It’s a win-win situation.

What’s even more exciting is that there won’t just be a scene or two of Batman in the series finale of the show. During a recent interview, Gotham star Cameron Monaghan, who plays Jeremiah Valeska, said that there would be an entire Batman-centric episode.

“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.”

New episodes of Gotham air on Thursday nights at 8 pm ET on FOX.