Doctor Who Season 13 is in development, and fans have been doing their best to try and dig up any details about the season ahead of its release. The results have been hit or miss so far, though the latest information dug up may have just confirmed that John Barrowman's Jack Harkness will yet again reunite with The Doctor and friends for another adventure.
The news came from a description of an upcoming Doctor Who novel that was up on the Penguin Random House website, but it was removed once word traveled around. Luckily, this wasn't before the synopsis was pulled from the site (via Radio Times), which explain how Jack may re-enter the story in Season 13. Read the synopsis below, which was said to be a tie-in adventure to Season 13, Episode 2.
In the midst of kicking alien butt – and looking good doing it – Captain Jack Harkness is suddenly transported through a time-window to 19th Century Cardiff… again! Realising there’s more than one thing afoot, he sets out to uncover what the Victorian-era Torchwood Institute team are up to behind closed doors, hoping to solve the mystery of why time-windows are cropping up everywhere. But what he finds is very unexpected, and will certainly leave him needing a hand from some old friends.
It looks like Jack is on another collision course with the Torchwood Institute, which is interesting given the events of the latest special, "Revolution of the Daleks." When the Doctor Who character bid farewell to the 13th Doctor, he announced he was off to see Gwen Cooper, who was featured alongside Harkness in the Torchwood spinoff. Given that this tie-in adventure is set to an episode so early in the season, could this mean Season 13 will feature a mini-Torchwood reunion of sorts?
If so, it wouldn't be all that surprising. After a long time away from the franchise, John Barrowman appeared as Captain Jack in in Season 12 and the latest special. It would not be at all surprising to learn that showrunner Chris Chibnall got him on board for another appearance. As for the official word so far, BBC declined to comment on any speculation.
While The BBC is often unwilling to comment on these matters, it does need to be said that the fact Captain Jack is appearing in a tie-in Doctor Who novel does not necessarily guarantee his involvement in the episode it's referencing. Or, Jack could only play a small part in the actual adventure, which would justify fans buying a tie-in novel to see the full scope of what he got into. As a big fan of John Barrowman and Captain Jack, I'm choosing to remain optimistic and that he'll not only be featured but that this could be some backdoor pilot for a Torchwood revival!
Ok, maybe that's a bit too optimistic, but with Doctor Who Season 13 still in production, who's to say what is and isn't possible at the moment? All we can do is speculate, continue to scour the web for answers on upcoming episodes and continue to guess who could take Jodie Whittaker's place if this is indeed her final season.
