Peter Capaldi made his full debut as the Twelfth Doctor in much the same fashion as most other Doctor Who actors: in an episode-ending post-regeneration scene. In this case, it was the 2013 Christmas special, ‘The Time of the Doctor,’ in which Matt Smith‘s Eleventh Doctor finally met his end, only to be rewarded by the High Council of Gallifrey with a new cycle of regenerations.
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But that wasn’t technically our first glimpse of the Twelfth Doctor; in November of that same year, during the broadcast of the 50th anniversary special, ‘The Day of the Doctor,’ Capaldi had a surprise cameo — though it was actually just his eyes and that menacing brow. It was the pivotal scene where all of the prior Doctors had assembled to save Gallifrey by working together to send it into a pocket universe — I nearly jumped out of my seat with excitement.
Here, watch it again for reference:
I got chills just watching it again. One question that’s been on the minds of a lot of Whovians since then is: when exactly did the Twelfth Doctor go back to do this? Well, it seems we may be getting an answer sooner than we thought.
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In an interview recorded earlier this month at San Diego Comic-Con (but not posted on YouTube until this week), Sirius XM radio’s Erik Nagel asked Capaldi whether the cameo would be alluded to in Series 9:
"“Well you know, it’s really hard. Right at this moment, I’m here at Comic-Con, but I’m actually in the middle of filming episode 11, which is part of the finale of this season.”"
"“So I know stuff that is unfolding in episode 11, and I know certain things that are happening in episode 12… I haven’t read episode 12, so I don’t know exactly what’s going on there, but in answer to your question… you’ll have to wait and see.”"
Capaldi also confirmed that Series 9 will deal more with the Doctor’s search for Gallifrey, something that was essentially tossed to the wayside last year. Perhaps in finding Gallifrey, the Twelfth Doctor will be forced to go back and help his prior selves seal it away in the first place? Capaldi does indicate this takes place in the final two episodes of Series 9, so it’s bound to be a big, pivotal part of the plot.
Related: 5 Burning Questions About Doctor Who Series 9 That Remain Unanswered
If you’d like to hear Capaldi’s comments for yourself, you can check out the full interview below:
Doctor Who Series 9 premieres September 19 on BBC One and BBC America. For more information, check out our full episode guide, ‘Doctor Who Series 9: Everything There is to Know So Far.’
What do you think? Are you excited to see the Twelfth Doctor’s cameo explained? Sound off in the comments below!
Next: Christopher Eccleston on His Doctor Who Legacy and Departure
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