‘Gotham’ Boss Teases Poison Ivy As A Seductive, Sexual Creature

Gotham fans were well prepared for the fact that there was going to be a change in casting where Poison Ivy is concerned, with the show’s producers dropping Clare Foley in favor of a much older Maggie Geha, but some Gotham fans might have been surprised to see the switch written into Gotham as a story arc. It might have been assumed that Geha would just take Foley’s place as the new Ivy Pepper, much like the way Val Kilmer stepped in to take Michael Keaton’s place in the Batman films. Gotham could have done that and seamlessly moved forward, but the series instead chose to give fans a story twist to explain the sudden age difference and new actress. Now, one Gotham showrunner is stepping up to explain just why the show needed a more mature Poison Ivy for their “Mad City” season.

Gotham Boss Ken Woodruff Dishes On The New Poison Ivy

According to Screen Crush, Gotham boss Ken Woodruff explains that there were a number of reasons for bringing Ms. Geha in to play the older Ivy Pepper, though many of those reasons stem from wanting to make Poison Ivy more like her comic book character. As fans of DC comic books can attest, one of Poison Ivy’s greatest talents is that of seduction and, understandably, Woodruff explains that everyone connected with Gotham felt uncomfortable with a young, pre-adult Ivy running around Gotham seducing villains and cops.

“The character Ivy in the comics, one of her greatest powers is the power of seduction. Everyone was much more comfortable with that with an older actress as opposed to a teenager,” explains the Gotham showrunner. “We want to explore that classic, canonical power of Ivy.”

While some Gotham fans may be rolling their eyes, thinking that producers brought in an older Ivy Pepper just so they can add more sex appeal to the show, Woodruff adds that a more mature body isn’t the only thing different about Poison Ivy. He says Poison Ivy will lose her naiveté and become more villainous, as Season 3 of Gotham explores the new “Mad City” theme.

“When she’s changed and transformed, there’s a real character change as well. She’ll still have some of the same traits, but she’ll be much darker, more manipulative than the Ivy we’ve seen so far,” Ken explains. “There’s a more evil quality to her as well. It’s more than just physical.”

Gotham Won’t Bow To Fish Mooney As It Once Did

Fish Mooney, played by Jada Pinkett-Smith, is back in Gotham, but not everyone is happy about that and, as Ed Nygma (Cory Michael Smith) tells Oswald Cobblepot (Robin Lord Taylor), penguins eat fish. That may be an indication of what is to come, because, as Woodruff revealed to The Hollywood Reporter, Fish’s time in Gotham is limited.

“Fish Mooney’s existence will always permeate Gotham, but we deal with that story in the first two episodes and then we move on to allow for the [Mad] Hatter and some of the other characters and storylines we wanted to tell,” says the Gotham producer.

Ken also explains that it isn’t just about Fish Mooney and the problems she’s having with her body rejecting the changes done to her body by Hugo Strange (B.D. Wong). It’s more about Mooney’s monsters and how Strange’s experiments ends up affecting them all. For the first few episodes of Season 3 of Gotham, the changes wrought upon these escaped patients will be the focus, but Woodruff says it will be resolved quickly.

The Gotham co-executive producer reveals that it was felt that the story of the monsters was better told as a short-term story arc instead of drawing out the theme through the entire season.

The next episode of Gotham airs on Monday, September 26, on Fox.

[Featured Image by Fox]