Doctor Who is a brotherhood of sorts, and it seems even if they don't share an episode, the actors who played the Doctors over the years are linked by the role and tend to follow each other's runs. Matt Smith is an actor in particular who remains interested in the franchise despite not making an appearance in the 60th anniversary. He recently shared his thoughts on the performance and words spoken from the new star of the series, Ncuti Gatwa.
Gatwa, who had a wild introduction thanks to The Doctor's bi-generation in "The Giggle," was watched by many with a Disney+ subscription in the Christmas episode "The Church on Ruby Road." During a recent interview with BBC Sounds, Smith said he still keeps up with Doctor Who and shared his thoughts on Ncuti Gatwa:
Yeah, yeah I always keep an eye on Doctor Who. I think he's great, Ncuti. Yeah, I think he's just totally made for it...I dropped him a line and said, 'Well done.'
This is only the latest moment between the two stars, as Ncuti Gatwa shared he briefly had a sweet interaction with Matt Smith ahead of the announcement he'd be the Fifteenth Doctor. It's good that Smith still thinks Gatwa is up for the challenge and is a fan of what he's seen of the star so far.
Unfortunately, Matt Smith didn't share any details about whether or not he'd be interested in returning, which is something many longtime fans are always waiting to hear about. The actor has found roles elsewhere after leaving the series and has talked about why Doctor Who's stars don't stay on the show long in the past. One would hope he'd not be feeling quite so burnt out on appearing years later, but as mentioned, he's busy with HBO's House of the Dragon Season 2 and other projects.
With that said, even if Smith was planned for an upcoming season of Doctor Who, he likely wouldn't be at liberty to share that with fans. Russell T. Davies prefers to keep big things secret for as long as possible, even when leaks happen. Remember when actors had to play coy for months ahead of the show officially bringing back David Tennant and Catherine Tate? I certainly do.
Based on what little I've seen of Ncuti Gatwa so far, I think he'd do great alongside Smith's Doctor. Plus, Russell T. Davies' dropped the major detail in a commentary track that every Doctor bi-generated across time, so an older Smith could make an appearance as the 11th Doctor and no one would bat an eye. Of course, he doesn't look all that different now from when he played the role back in the day, so I don't think anyone would bat an eye in the first place. Time will tell if it happens, as we look forward to a lot of surprises during Gatwa's run as the Doctor.
Doctor Who returns to Disney+ with a new season in May of 2024. The Who fans at CinemaBlend are psyched for the upcoming season, as well as all the fun that could happen both expected and unexpected.
