There are some big changes coming in the Fox series, Gotham. The show has been renewed for a second season, although the first one has been shaky to say the least. Still, it has improved over time and deserves a second shot to impress. Now one of the season's bright spots, Jada Pinkett Smith's Fish Mooney, is exiting the series, while The Newsroom and 12 Years a Slave's Chris Chalk is joining as Lucius Fox, the character made popular by Morgan Freeman.
Smith revealed on Live with Kelly and Michael that she wouldn't be coming back as mob boss Fish Mooney, one of the few truly original main characters on the series.
Smith: “I don’t think so, no. I signed for a year, and the year is up. But, there are some great things coming ahead on Gotham — believe you me, there’s a lot of good stuff coming.”
She didn't rule out that this was the last time we would ever see Mooney, but promised she would go out with a bang.
Early on in the season Mooney was the character who felt the most out-of-place, and maybe it's because the writers didn't have years of comic book lore to work from. But Mooney grew on me, largely because of Smith's over the top performance.
And then there's Chalk, who will take on the role of Lucius Fox in Episode 21 of this season with an option to return for the next. Fox is a character from the comics, but most people know him through Morgan Freeman's portrayal in Christopher Nolan's Batman movies. He's Bruce Wayne's tech genius, business manager and eventually becomes CEO of Wayne Enterprises. It's unclear, at least in the comics, whether he knows Wayne is actually Batman, but he basically supplies him with the money and equipment for his crime fighting activities. On the show, Fox will be a moral beacon for young Bruce Wayne (David Mazouz) as he fights to live up to his father's legacy.
