Gotham’s David Mazouz Admits The Series Finale Felt ‘Rushed,’ And I Agree With His Idea For What Would Have Been Better

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Though David Mazouz played Bruce Wayne throughout all five seasons of Gotham, his character never actually became Batman on screen. We finally saw a version of Bruce Wayne suited up as Gotham’s Dark Knight in the very last scene of the series, which took place ten years after the previous episode. Looking back, Mazouz said the finale felt hurried, and I think he’s right – a more developed ending would have been ideal, though admittedly a large undertaking.

While promoting his short film, Money Talks (which he co-wrote, starred in, and produced), David Mazouz discussed the finale of Gotham, titled “The Beginning.” He explained that although he provided the voice for the older Bruce Wayne in the episode, a CGI version of his face was used on a stunt performer wearing the Batman suit. He then shared his thoughts on how the series concluded.

Because of the time jump, the final episode felt hurried. It jumps forward ten years after the penultimate episode, so all the characters had to be aged up visually – Ben got gray hair and a mustache, and Erin wore a wig and had red hair instead of blonde. Everyone looked quite different. It felt a bit like they were just checking boxes for fans. Ideally, they would have continued the show for another ten years to show the characters aging naturally, but with only one episode to cover that time, it felt like a compromise.

More on Gotham
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  • Gotham’s Chris Chalk Explains What He Misses Most From The Batman Prequel Series, While Admitting That Lucius Fox Was ‘Underutilized’

Calling the finale ‘rushed’ is understandable, given it only dedicated one episode to the story ten years in the future. As David Mazouz noted, this was intentional – the goal was to align the show’s characters more closely with their comic book versions. Bruce Wayne’s first appearance as Batman was the most obvious example, but we also saw quick glimpses of James Gordon with a mustache, and both Riddler and Penguin sporting their classic costumes. Jeremiah Valeska fully transformed into his ‘J’ persona, though it remained unclear if he would ultimately become the Joker in the show’s universe.

The series finale tried to wrap up a lot of storylines, and I remember wishing it had been a two-part episode. Ideally, though, like David Mazouz pointed out, it would have been great if Gotham had lasted ten seasons, allowing the story to reach “The Beginning…” more organically. Sadly, that didn’t happen, so Mazouz understood why the writers focused heavily on giving fans what they wanted, explaining that:

It seemed like the writers aimed to give longtime fans some closure, showing how the characters would ultimately develop. However, it was just a single episode, so there wasn’t a lot of room to delve into things. I didn’t have a significant role in it, so my opinion might be a little skewed. I wasn’t on set much for that episode – my appearance was mostly just a strange CGI effect.

While it’s fun to think about Gotham lasting for 15 seasons, that was always unlikely. Smallville ran for 10 seasons, so it’s possible Gotham could have reached that milestone and had a more natural ending. Ultimately, Fox chose to end the show after five seasons, with a final season of only 10 episodes – though they later added two more.

Even though the Gotham TV series has finished, Batman’s future in movies is looking very promising. The Batman: Part II is still scheduled to come out on October 1, 2027, and Christina Hodson, who worked on The Flash, is writing The Brave and the Bold – the next DC movie that will bring Batman into the main DC Universe storyline.

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2026-01-22 20:39