Ncuti Gatwa has already made two appearances in Doctor Who, firstly when David Tennant's Fourteenth Doctor bi-regenerated into Gatwa's Fifteenth Doctor, and then on Christmas Day 2023, when Gatwa starred in his first solo episode, fighting goblins alongside new companion Millie Gibson (Ruby Sunday).
Gatwa's first full season of Doctor Who will premiere in May. The new season, which will debut on Disney+ as well as the BBC, has a huge budget increase thanks to an injection of cash from Disney. As a result, the Whoniverse now has more money to play around with than ever before, leading to some of the most ambitious episodes in the franchise's 60-year history. "Doctor Who celebrated its 60-year anniversary last year and has never been more ambitious and brave," said the BBC's director of drama Lindsay Salt, per RadioTimes.
The Doctor Who team won't use the increased cash flow as a reason to sit back and slack off. Instead, they're willing to take risks and make the Whoniverse better than it's ever been. This is an opportunity to compete with the world's biggest sci-fi franchises. "There’s something about this moment, the current climate in our industry, that makes our approach to risk even more essential," Salt said.
"While others might become more cautious, we will go further to take the risks others won’t – to task all the producers and creatives in this room to keep pushing those boundaries, and to venture into the creative unknown."
Doctor Who will return in a few months. Going by the teaser trailer, it looks as epic as ever. No doubt there's plenty of surprises in store!
Matt Smith weighs in on a potential return to Doctor Who!
Over its 60 years on our screens, Doctor Who has seen plenty of cameos from its classic Doctors. David Tennant, who played the Tenth Doctor, returned as the Tenth Doctor during Matt Smith's run, and then played the Fourteenth incarnation of the titular character.
There's always an opportunity for actors to reprise the role. Fans are desperate to see Matt Smith return to the franchise, a notion that Smith himself is fond of. "Never say never. Never say never!" he told the BBC when asked about one day returning. "It's an exciting move for the show, so, I'm sure one of his scripts would be just brilliant. I haven't heard and no one's picked up the phone yet."
Would you welcome a return of Matt Smith's Doctor? With the actor seemingly on board, it's bound to happen someday.
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