'Gotham' season 3 release date, spoilers news 2016: Ivy Pepper's new role in Bruce Wayne's life revealed; Jerome confirmed to return

"Gotham" returns for its third season with Ivy Pepper all-grown up. Despite not having any superpowers at first, she will definitely have the manipulative nature fans expect.

During the recent Television Critics Association summer press tour, Ivy's new portrayer Maggie Geha explained that her character's more sexualized appearance serves as a weapon to control the minds of her enemies. She may not feel real attraction toward others but she takes advantage of other people's impulses and attractions — making her both deadly and useful at the same time.

Contrary to what most "Gotham" fans expect, there will be no romantic relationship between Ivy and Bruce Wayne, but she will play an important part in his life as the story progresses. "They're definitely going to have a relationship with each other. It's not going to be a romantic one, necessarily. It's going to be more of a sister figure to him," said Bruce Wayne's portrayer David Mazouz, according to IGN. "They'll be very involved with each other. And they will have major influences in each others lives. She will be a major part of his life, especially towards the middle of this season, Mazouz added."

Meanwhile, the series wouldn't be complete without one of Gotham's most notorious villains: The Joker. His younger version, Jerome (Cameron Monaghan), may have died last season but he will return at some point in season 3.

Executive producer John Stephens told Zap2it that they definitely plan to have Jerome back. "We're going to be playing it again this year and basically extending the idea of the cult of Jerome. We're building the architecture for him to come back," he said. 

Even though Jerome's influence will be seen throughout the next season, Stephens explained that his big comeback will happen in season 4 if the show gets renewed. "You'll have these underground movements that have started to talk about Jerome and what he represented and how he's going to come back like in the days of John the Baptist," he said. Stephens also added that they hope to show the Joker myth from different angles in the next season. 

The third season of "Gotham" premieres on Sept. 19, Monday, at 8 p.m. EDT on FOX.