Ever wonder what it would have been like had Christopher Eccleston returned for the Doctor Who 50th Anniversary Special? Even though it did not happen, we can have a glimpse at the concept.
It is quite obvious by now that Christopher Eccleston has moved on from Doctor Who. He typically refuses to discuss his time on the show, and still harbors some resentment towards the way his tenure came to an end. Unless something dramatic changes, Eccleston will not be making any cameos to reprise his role as the Ninth Doctor.
However, at the time of the 50th Anniversary Special, there was still a glimmer of hope that Eccleston would return. Steven Moffat had spoken with him on a couple of occasions, even meeting to have a meal together as he tried to talk Eccleston into returning. Unfortunately, that would not happen, leading to the creation of the War Doctor and the introduction of John Hurt into the Whoniverse.
Yet, we can have an idea of what the special would have looked like with the Ninth Doctor. Storyboard artist Andrew Wildman, who worked on that special, released a few storyboards online, showing what some different scenes would have looked like with Eccleston’s incarnation in place of the War Doctor.
More from Doctor Who
- Ncuti Gatwa’s Doctor Who Christmas special is a “complete reinvention”
- Ncuti Gatwa is “so nervous” to take on Doctor Who role
- The Doctor and Donna are better than ever in “Wild Blue Yonder”
- Take the Black: House of the Dragon season 2 trailer hints, the Fallout show, and more
- Jodie Whittaker didn’t pick up on any of the hate for her version of the Doctor
As brilliant as Hurt and the War Doctor were, it is interesting to wonder what the special would have been like had Eccleston decided to put aside his issues with the program and return. For as much excitement as there already was surrounding the episode, the return of Eccleston, after years of refusing to even discuss his time there, would have been quite the spectacle.
This is not to take anything away from John Hurt’s War Doctor. He was utterly brilliant, and the War Doctor is a character that would be great to see return to Doctor Who in the future, especially now that the next incarnations have made peace with that time in their past. But the dynamic of Eccleston returning would have been far too interesting to pass up.
Next: BBC to re-release classic Doctor Who novels
In the end, as we all know, Christopher Eccleston declined to return to Doctor Who. At least we have a few storyboards to see what his return could have looked like.