Gotham Creator Teases Cameron Monaghan "May Or May Not Be The Joker"

After last Monday's episode of Gotham, Fox aired a sneak preview of next Monday's "Blind Fortune Teller" episode and it had people going nuts. Why? Because it appears to be introducing Shameless actor Cameron Monaghan as The Joker. Or, maybe it wasn't?

"He may or may not be The Joker," Gotham creator/showrunner Bruno Heller told The Hollywood Reporter. "All I can promise is that's not a bait and switch. It's a long game we're playing here."

Huh?! It isn't bait-and-switch, but he may not be The Joker. Is that a riddle? Maybe Bruno Heller should be The Riddler instead of Cory Michael Smith.

Gotham producers have been teasing that The Joker would make an appearance at some point before the first season comes to a conclusion. "The great fun of this show is that it's the origin story of these famous characters, and with The Joker, the wonderful thing is that nobody knows where he came from and what his genesis was," Heller said. "What I can guarantee is that you have to follow that brilliant young actor Cameron Monaghan down the line, and you will see how this leads to the character we all know and love."

Things get more intriguing when Heller praises Monaghan's "brilliant" performance. "When the episode is aired, people will see it's not an imitation of somebody else or an homage to anyone," Heller opined. "It's a performance in and of itself."

Not an imitation or an homage? That line seems to me like The Joker giveaway. By the way, Monaghan's laugh in the preview below sounds like an minitation, or an homage if you like, of Jack Nicholson's Joker from Tim Burton's Batman. Though, I'll wait to judge his performance after we get a better look at him come Monday.

"Blind Fortune Teller" airs Monday, February 16, On Fox.