Sadly, it looks like Jerome's return to Gotham is a little further off than fans were hoping for.

Ever since Cameron Monaghan's Jerome popped up at the end of Gotham's midseason finale, viewers have been itching to see more of the Joker prototype on screen, and many have been eyeing Thursday's premiere as the day when his takeover of Arkham Asylum would begin.

When photos from the episode were released however, Jerome was missing, making people wonder if they'd have to wait even longer to see his reign of terror begin.

On Friday, Monaghan took to Instagram to promote the new episodes of Gotham, which are set to begin airing next week. He also revealed that his big debut won't be happening until the following episode, airing on March 8.

"Less than a week until Gotham returns and less than two weeks until you get to see this guy in action," Monaghan wrote. The text was accompanied by a pair of Jerome photos from "A Dark Knight: Reunion" that were released this week.

While Jerome may not be appearing in the midseason premiere next Thursday, he will have a very big part to play in the overall story the rest of this season. In an interview with ComicBook.com earlier this season, executive producer Bryan Wynbrandt talked a little bit about what fans can expect from Jeromes upcoming episodes.

"So the balance with him is how do we make him continually cool and continually something that brings that energy, that newness in where we don't get complacent or feel like his character just sort of starts to become just another one of the core," Wynbrandt said of Jerome. "His entrance into the show always signifies something big happening and so you just have to be careful with that character. That you don't overplay his hand in the show but all that being said, he has been phenomenal. We have an awesome story for him. You're going to love it and the fans are going to love it and it really goes to a really interesting place and has ripple effects not just in this season but hopefully, knock on wood, next season as well."

Gotham returns with its midseason premiere on Thursday, March 1 at 8pm ET on FOX.

Are you excited for Jerome's return to Gotham? Let us know in the comments!