'Gotham' Season 3 Return Date, Spoilers: Former 'Star Trek' CMO to Recur as Supervillain Ra's al Ghul

By Emmanuelle Espiritu, Christian Post Contributor Tuesday, March 07, 2017

Any hope of pre-Batman Bruce Wayne (David Mazouz) ever crossing over with fellow DC-inspired heroes from The CW will officially be put to rest when "Gotham" ushers in its very own Ra's al Ghul.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, Alexander Siddig has been cast in the recurring role of Batman's arch nemesis, Ra's al Ghul. Siddig is best known for his previous roles as Chief Medical Officer (CMO) Julian Bashir in "Star Trek: Deep Space Nine" and as the former Prince of Dorne, Doran Martell, in "Game of Thrones."

Siddig's version of Ra's comes just two seasons after the character debuted on The CW's DC-inspired series "Arrow," wherein he was portrayed by Matthew Nable.

The infamous supervillain will eventually be revealed as the ruling mind behind the Court of Owls, and will first appear in "Gotham" after Bruce unravels the secrets behind the mysterious organization.

"Gotham's" Ra's will be just as enigmatic and powerful as his predecessors, and will also be ruling his very own international criminal organization known as the League of Shadows. His mysterious past coupled with his naturally cunning personality will make this Ra's as challenging and deadly an adversary for teenage Bruce as he has always been for Batman.

Since magic does not exist in Gotham as it does in Star City, Ra's quest, whatever it is, will most probably be fought in ways that will keep the series' storyline grounded in reality.

But before Ra's makes his big entrance, another popular Dark Knight villain will first take center stage when "Gotham" returns for the second half of its third season. The official trailer reveals that Edward Nygma (Cory Michael Smith) will finally be embracing his infamous identity as The Riddler.

But as to how and why he comes to a decision to become one of Gotham's mad villains right after shooting his former best friend and partner in crime, Oswald Cobblepot (Robert Lord Taylor), is something fans should watch out for in the episode aptly titled "How the Riddler Got His Name."

"Gotham" season 3 episode 15 airs on Monday, April 24, at 8 p.m. EST on FOX.