We’re about halfway through the final season of Gotham and I know Batfans are anxiously waiting to see how the story plays out. Since the announcement that the fifth season will be the show’s last, we’ve heard many promises to the Batman faithful. Among the many vows of fully formed rogues, we’ve heard that we will see the cape and cowl in the series finale via a 10-year time skip.
Because the world needs a Batman
Apparently, Gotham is going to spoil us. No, Batman in costume won’t just appear in the final few seconds of the series, he’ll actually feature throughout most of the episode. Last Wednesday, Gotham made their final Television Critics Association presentation. At the presentation, executive producer and showrunner John Stephens revealed that bit of good news:
He’s in the episode. He’s not just in a last scene. The last episode is one scene in the timeline of the rest of the season, and then the rest of the episode is in the future. It almost feels in a weird way like another pilot.
At the time, due to creator and showrunner, Bruno Heller’s feelings on costumed vigilantes, I believed that it would be similar to Smallville‘s series finale, with him appearing in the final moments of the series. While many considered it disappointing, I thought it was the most logical choice. This show was never meant to be about Batman, but Bruce Wayne’s trauma and subsequent transformation into the Dark Knight. At the same time, over the last few years, we’ve seen David Mazouz suit up and fight as a Batman precursor, so we really didn’t need the full cape and cowl treatment, in my opinion.
The face behind the mask
They also previewed footage of the Batman himself, confirming that David Mazouz will help bring this incarnation of the Caped Crusader to life. Initially, it was believed due to the time skip and the size of the Mazouz, that an older and larger actor would don the costume. I supposed that the writers felt that after 5 years of playing the character, Mazouz deserved to play the Batman in costume. Mazouz will actually provide the voice of this Batman and we will see his face in the cowl.
Confirmed by journalist Chris Hayner, who was in attendance:
Is it David in the suit in the series finale? “Yes and no.” They said he’s done some stuff in the suit. The face under the cowl is him and we’ll hear his Batman growl. But the Batman is built on someone over 6 feet tall. #TCA19
— Chris E. Hayner (@ChrisHayner) February 6, 2019
That feels like it’s going to be extremely awkward, but I guess they’ll age him up a bit. How awkward and cartoony would it be to have a bodybuilder in their late 20s with the face of a skinny 17-year-old? I think that will elicit far more laughter than awe. Actually, you know, it would be pretty satisfying to see David Mazouz’s head superimposed on Batfleck’s body. I think I’d rather see 30 minutes of that than the #SnyderCut. Who’s with me?
Gotham airs on Thursdays at 8PM EST on Fox.
