Doctor Who is about to kick off a new season on the 2025 TV schedule for those with a Disney+ subscription; however, questions continue to mount about the show's future beyond that. While the BBC has refuted rumors suggesting the series was canceled, yet another big shoe has fallen, as Ncuti Gatwa has taken a major role on stage. And this development has me worried about the beloved sci-fi show.
Gatwa impressed many in his inaugural season as The Doctor, with some even calling him their favorite lead of the modern iteration. Losing him before the usual three-season stint for Doctor Who leads would be a massive bummer. With his latest career development, I'm fearful this speculation might become a reality.
Ncuti Gatwa Is Joining A Play
The BBC reports that Ncuti Gatwa will play Elizabethan playwright Christopher Marlowe in the play Born With Teeth.
He'll star alongside My Lady Jane actor Edward Bluemel, who readers may remember acted alongside Gatwa in the series Sex Education.
The play will start August 13th, and have an eleven-week run.
I'm Worried This Could Mean Regeneration Or A Gap Year For Doctor Who
With Ncuti Gatwa unavailable between mid-August to around the opening weeks of November, it seems unlikely we'll see Doctor Who go into production for a new season before the end of 2025. That is, unless the series has already filmed his regeneration scene, and he's exiting as the lead either at the end of this season or in an already filmed special.
Russell T. Davies stated he wanted Doctor Who to be on a yearly schedule when the series teamed up with Disney+. However, with no work started on Season 3 of Doctor Who, one would assume a gap year is coming if Ncuti Gatwa is still playing The Doctor. Davies said to CinemaBlend he "hoped" to make more episodes, noting the BBC's statement that a new season will only be considered after looking at the viewership statistics of the upcoming episodes.
The good news is RTD also told CinemaBlend there's more to the Pantheon story arc than what the latest season can contain. Perhaps the Doctor will suffer a devastating loss to the gods he's taken on, leading to a regeneration and a new lead, kicking off another actor's tenure in the role.
While I think there's not an entirely unfounded fear that Doctor Who could be canceled, I am skeptical the BBC and Disney would abandon the long-running franchise entirely. We're still waiting on the standalone spinoff The War Between the Land and the Sea, and the name recognition of the franchise has me optimistic it'll never go away completely.
However, it does look increasingly likely we could be in for another gap in seasons, perhaps while decision-makers behind the scenes work on ideas to get a mainstream audience more interested in The Doctor again.
Doctor Who kicks off its new season on Disney+ on Saturday, April 12th. Don't let the latest news dissuade you from tuning into the premiere, especially with the hint that we may see The Doctor travel into the multiverse.
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