2019 is just around the corner and so is Gotham season 5, the final installment of the fan-favorite Batman prequel series on FOX. When the previous season, subtitled A Dark Knight, came to a close last May, the villainous Ra’s al Ghul (Alexander Siddig), his League of Shadows and the Joker-esque Jeremiah Valeska (Cameron Monaghan) succeeded in setting off a series of bombs throughout Gotham. The result? The mayor’s murder, the destruction of every bridge into the city and the marooning of James Gordon (Ben McKenzie) and his fellow police officers.
Everything you need to know about Gotham season 5
Gotham season 5, subtitled Legend of the Dark Knight, will finally wrap up the show’s many twists and turns and, by its end, give birth to Bruce Wayne’s (David Mazouz) long-developing vigilante alter ego, Batman.
It will also give in to the fans’ unwavering demands regarding the Valeska brothers, Jerome and Jeremiah, and which one will ultimately become Batman’s iconic arch-nemesis, the Joker. Showrunner Bruno Heller and his team of writers have been toying with this for the past few seasons, and seeing as how one of the Gotham season 5 episodes is titled “Ace Chemicals,” chances are they will finally be gifting viewers with the creation of the Crown Prince of Crime himself.
Gotham season 5 cast
Before any of this can come to pass, however, Gordon, Wayne, Harvey Bullock (Donal Logue) and the rest of the Gotham cops who stayed behind must find a way to protect the city’s trapped inhabitants from the rogues who roam the streets. These include the Penguin (Robin Lord Taylor), the Riddler (Cory Michael Smith), future Catwoman Selina Kyle (Camren Bicondova), Bane (Shane West) and a veritable who’s who of the Batman rogues gallery.
The attack on Gotham led by Ra’s al Ghul, the League of Shadows and Jeremiah has left the isolated city in shambles. Those left behind are now forced to grapple over what dwindling supplies remain and the various territories they can be found in. In a way, Gotham season 5 sounds a lot like the final act of director Christopher Nolan’s The Dark Knight Rises, the third film in his Dark Knight trilogy. (Both it and Gotham even featured Bane, no less!)
As audiences who’ve been following along since season 1 already know, however, Gotham is a very different animal from any of the Batman films that have preceded (or followed) it. This is very much an elongated origin story, which initially began as a look into the early days of Detective James Gordon and his time with the Gotham Police Department before ultimately becoming its commissioner.
Soon after, Heller and company quickly realized that viewers were anxious to see what would become of young Bruce and expanded the show’s horizons. Hence the Gotham fans have come to know and love for the past few seasons and the Batman origin story it will finally be bringing to a close with season 5.
Gotham season 5 release date: When is the Gotham season 5 premiere?
The Gotham season 5 premiere is set for Thursday, Jan. 3, at 8 p.m. on FOX.
