When it comes to shows that really just don’t hold anything back, I think we can agree that Gotham is one of them. After introducing a slew of new villains and plot lines in the last couple seasons, it looks like this season, we’ll finally get to see one of Batman’s most iconic characters: The Riddler. Gotham‘s cast came to Wondercon this year and brought with them their Bruce Wayne, along with a gallery of rogues and teased just what we’d be in for in the coming back end of the season.
We spoke to executive producer Danny Cannon at the convention about just what we could be looking forward to when it comes to the second half of season three. Because we had to, we asked about Penguin. Cannon mentioned bringing him back and “merging him with somebody who can help him.” He also talked about creating the elaborate world of Gotham, as well as some of the callouts that have happened on the show this season. Of course, anyone who has been watching the latest season knows how closely Cobblepot’s election mirrored the most recent US election, Cannon addressed that along with some of the easter eggs that this show often throws at the viewers.
David Mazouz (“Bruce Wayne”) talked a little about getting to portray two different characters. Since the arrival of Bruce’s Indian Hill doppelganger, Mazouz has had to juggle two different roles. He’s also had to worry about playing out his romance with Selina Kyle, the future Catwoman, especially after the disastrous visit from Selina’s mom. He discussed the nuances between Bruce Wayne and Batman, and even made a teasing mention that while there isn’t a mask right now, there’s a mask coming.
After quite a transformation of character, Cory Michael Smith (“Edward Nygma”) seems to be very excited to be donning one of the Riddler’s iconic green suits. At the panel, the audience got to see a shot of The Riddler in full form, testing a victim with his riddles menacingly. Smith teased a little of what we would see from Ed in the remaining episodes as well as a desire for him to slowly become more eloquent overtime and transform into the Riddler we all know and love. But he’s not bothered by making his character likeable, he says. At the mention of Penguin, Smith elaborated on Ed finding some new allies and what would happen if he saw Penguin again.
Selina Kyle hasn’t had the easiest time this season, after getting back her mother only to be swindled and tricked by her, it doesn’t look like we’ll be seeing a soft side of our favorite soon-to-be-Catwoman any time soon. Camren Bicondova (“Selina Kyle”) talked about what we could look forward to and whether or not Selina could forgive Bruce anytime soon and the complexity of their budding teenage romance. She also gushed about meeting one of the classic actresses to play Catwoman in the past, Julie Newmar.
No strangers to the cat theme, Jessica Lucas (“Tabitha Galavan”) mentioned in the panel the potential influence that Tabitha could have on Selina and elaborated with us on where she feels Selina would have to get to be tutored by the Tigress. She also talked a little about Tabitha’s realtionships, mainly with Barbara and also her feelings for Butch.
And with the Penguin gone, Barbara is happily taking control of the criminal underworld. Erin Richards (“Barbara Kean”) elaborated on this as well as her relationship with Tabitha as partners-in-crime. Since taking the mantle of Barbara, she’s broke the mold on the character and Richards talked both about that and about the feedback and her thoughts on Barbara’s bisexuality.
Drew Powell (“Butch Gilzean”) affably spoke about his take on the original character of Butch and his hopes to seeing more of Butch’s family and backstory. After a tumultuous relationship with Tabitha, Powell talked about getting Tabitha on Butch’s side as well as his role as a main player in the criminal underground. On top of that, we also got a little tease into what kinds of potential songs Butch might sing if we ever got a musical episode, and maybe we might see he and Lucas give us their rendition of “Ain’t No Mountain High Enough”?
There’s no shortage of possibilities when it comes to a show like Gotham. With the Riddler coming to full bloom and whispers of Ra’s al Guhl, the second half of season three looks to be more action packed than the first. Gotham returns on FOX on April 24th!
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