Gotham looks like it’s going to play out as a hybrid Batman Without Batman–Batman Muppet Babies. Set when Bruce Wayne is just a youngster, the drama will focus on Jim Gordon in his mustacheless detective phase. (So awkward.) All the Dark Knight’s usual nemeses will appear in their pre-supervillain civilian states — Edward Nygma before he was the Riddler, a not-yet-Penguin’d Oswald Cobblepot. How about the Joker, though? Whither the ultimate Bat baddie?

Jon Beavers, an actor from Nickeloden’s The Fresh Band, will appear in the pilot as a stand-up comic with ties to crime lord Fish Mooney (Jada Pinkett Smith). Seems like a probable candidate for the new Joker, yeah? (IMDb has him as Comedian, which feels deliberately cagey.) But Bleeding Cool is reporting that this is a red herring, and that the show will be full of them.

“Basically, every episode in the first season will introduce a character that might be a future Joker, each emphasizing aspects of the character’s iconography, a card sharp, a flower seller, a clown, or just a guy with a very big grin,” reads the report. “All relatively unknown actors. All potentially a Joker.” Annnd we’ve got another reason to circle September 22 on the calendar. The only thing that could be more exciting is if multiple characters actually played multiple Jokers, each embodying one of the varied takes the character has seen through the years. Some sort of battle royal/reality TV show could culminate with one lucky Joker getting to terrorize Gotham.

Fox has also released a new teaser, one that seems to appear deliberately in tandem with this report. It features Gordon announcing his return to the city in Batman Begins–ish fashion, eyeing all the crooks-to-be on his way to a crime scene (Mr. and Mrs. Wayne?). There’s a clear “just wait, these kids are gonna become monsters” vibe, and it wraps with a red smear on the Gotham Gazette. Welcome home, Jim. Hope you like seeing Jokers everywhere.