‘Gotham’ Showrunner Says Jeremiah Will Undergo Another Joker “Evolution”

After the stunning turn of events at the end of Thursday night’s episode of Gotham, fans were left wondering what was going to become of Jeremiah. Cameron Monaghan‘s pseudo-Joker was stabbed repeatedly in the stomach by Selina Kyle during the episode’s final act, leaving him motionless on the floor. The promo for next week’s chapter drove the point home even further. Somehow, Jeremiah Valeska is dead.

This fact is both confusing and disappointing, especially considering how wonderful of a Joker Monaghan has become with Jeremiah. Fortunately, it seems like this death scenario isn’t the end of the story, but yet another beginning. After both Jerome and Jeremiah, it looks like Cameron Monaghan will transform one final time.

During an interview with TV Guide about Thursday’s episode, Gotham showrunner John Stephens revealed that the character has another evolution on the way, and this will bring him closer to becoming the real Joker than ever before.

“You never see a full transformation into the Joker, but you do see another transformation,” Stephens says. “Jeremiah undergoes another evolution in his character to become another amalgam of Jeremiah and Jerome that I think audiences are gonna look at and say, ‘If it’s not the Joker then it’s definitely an antecedent or a proto-Joker that lives there.’”

This potential transformation was teased by Monaghan just a couple of weeks ago, when he told EW that he was going to be taking on a third character before the show was finished.

“It’s a very strange and surreal thing but on a show that’s as strange and absurd and heightened as Gotham, it makes sense. It’s a weird challenge,” Monaghan said. “It’s definitely not what I expected going into it, to develop one character for as long as I did and be like, all right, time for a new thing that’s also distinct. And then I’ve had to do that again recently in the final season as well — I won’t say how or why but there’s another huge transition for the character too. It’s definitely an extremely unique challenge that’s unique to the comic book medium.”

There’s no telling what could be next for Monaghan’s story on Gotham, but it’s going to have at least one more twist before all is said and done.

What do you think will become of Jeremiah this season? Let us know in the comments!

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