The Doctor Who franchise seems to have just recently gotten its latest and most experimental Doctor to date, but a recent incident and months of rumors seem to point to this iteration of the iconic character having to alter his appearance once more going forward.
Doctor Who has been a paragon of British television science fiction for decades, with the in-universe miracle of regeneration allowing a revolving door of talented, powerful stars to take on the titular role of the Doctor, an alien Time Lord who has adventures through time and space. In a recent move to push the ongoing flagship show to a wider audience, Disney took up the cause and put the show on its Disney+ streaming service for audiences outside the purview of the BBC’s UK base. This partnership and expanded reach indicated that there’s a lot to look forward to concerning the future of Doctor Who, with Davies even recently weighing in on a potentially amazing sci-fi crossover alongside Star Trek, an idea that’s already been playtested in their respective mobile games.
While Davies’ 2021 return to Doctor Who was heralded as wildly impactful at a time when the iconic IP could have been doing better, it seems like there might be some issues with the show still. Recently, current Doctor Ncuti Gatwa went on The Graham Norton Show and declared, “We did the second series this year, the Christmas special is coming up, and we are filming a third series next year.” While this was generally taken as positive news when the press briefings were released, brows began to be raised when the show aired, and the comments were changed to say instead, “We finished the second season earlier this year, we’ve got the Christmas episode coming out … at Christmas … But it’s been amazing.” While Deadline was able to diffuse the rumor mill by confirming that the change wasn’t on the orders of the BBC but rather an editorial choice, the whole thing seems to suggest Gatwa’s relatively recent ascension to the role seems to be nearing its end.
The problem comes from the fact that a third series for the Fifteenth Doctor was already looking unlikely for a few reasons, and the BBC distancing itself from his comments. “As we’ve said previously, the decision on season three will be made after season two transmits, and as always, we don’t comment on speculation,” a spokesperson for the production confirmed in a statement. This echoes the sentiment expressed in the latest issue of Doctor Who Magazine by franchise boss Russell T. Davies, who went further to insist that it’s always been done that way. It’s been rumored that Disney was set to cancel Doctor Who after season 2 due to it failing to bring in the sort of viewership the company was looking for when they inked the deal with the BBC to take on Doctor Who for the US and other International markets, and those whispers have been echoed in some substantial circles. Taking those rumors with the revisions, it’s difficult to see any good signs for Gatwa’s Doctor.
The most unfavorable factor for Gatwa is the built-in transition tool that his bi-generation left the creative team. With the ever-adored David Tennant already in the show’s current narrative, Doctor Who could easily pivot back to what’s worked before, taking another step in the direction of a concerning trend that the MCU seems to have borrowed from the franchise with the return of Robert Downey Jr. While many fans would be happy to see Tennant centered again, it would be a poor sign of health for the franchise as a whole and a white flag of sorts thrown up for the current streak of trying new things with the character, for better or worse.
While Doctor Who seems set to return to tradition with the Christmas special at the end of the year and has made a lot of promises concerning the quality and appeal of the second series with Gatwa, it’s unclear what the odds of the show faring better with fans is. While Gatwa’s time as the Doctor hasn’t been as badly received as Jodie Whitaker’s run, it’s hard not to see a downward trend in the franchise akin to the struggles that the MCU and DCEU have run into over the past few years. Fans will have to wait and see whether the Doctor can best this rough patch or if he’ll have to regenerate once more.
The Doctor Who franchise is available to stream on Disney+ in the United States and other markets outside the UK.