Celebrities
‘Gotham’ EP explains the plan for Harley Quinn
When “Gotham” executive producer John Stephens told Screener about the show’s plan to introduce the idea of Harley Quinn in the Season 3 finale, we could barely contain our excitement. After all, “Gotham” has a habit of putting its own spin on the characters it imports from “Batman” mythology.
Speaking to Screener at WonderCon, fellow executive producer Danny Cannon shed a bit more light on what Harley coming to “Gotham” would entail. “That’s a character we’ve always wanted to have,” he says. “It’s a lot of people’s favorite character — but the age problem was always going to be there.”
Age is an issue “Gotham” runs into quite a bit, given that it portrays a teenage Bruce Wayne (David Mazouz) and the origins of some of Batman’s most well-known villains. The ages of characters have been a bit scattered, with the show even taking steps to age up Poison Ivy (Maggie Geha) at the beginning of Season 3. Given that Harley’s origin is as psychiatrist Harleen Quinzel, it’s hard to see exactly how that would fit into “Gotham’s” sensibilities, giving her room to eventually become a foe for a grown Batman.
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Luckily, “Gotham” has Jerome. The show’s prototype has quickly become a fan favorite character and rewritten the rules of what The Joker could be within a Batman story. “Like we did with Jerome, our job at ‘Gotham’ was to create a world where Batman was going to be necessary,” Cannon says. “So finding a character called Jerome, you just give the idea in people’s minds that some anarchists, people who love chaos and have no filter whatsoever, can exist.”
In that same vein, introducing a prototypical Harley is a possibility Cannon is very excited about. “If it’s not Harley Quinn, how can we talk about what she will become one day — that’s what we’re discussing right now,” he says.
And we can’t wait to see what they cook up.
“Gotham” returns Monday, April 24, at 8 p.m. ET/PT on FOX.