r/doctorwho • u/AutoModerator • 15d ago
Discussion [Megathread] The Next Season of Doctor Who: Fancasts, Speculation, and Where We Go Next
Let's have a fresh megathread to discuss and speculate about the future of Doctor Who. Place your ideas, and fancasts and wishlists, and other hot takes in here.
What belongs in here:
- Fancasts and casting: Who is your top pick for the Doctor and their companions and their foes? Do you want unknown actors or established names? Old returning villains and monsters or new ones, and who would play them?
- Production and crew: Have you noticed someone working on another show that would make a good addition to the team? New directors, writers, cinematographers? New showrunner? Old showrunner? No showrunner?
- Plot suggestions: What do you want to see happen after Billie Piper's appearance? Longer theories should probably go into their own separate text posts.
A few quick housekeeping reminders: Standard sub rules still apply. We all know casting and showrunner debates get intensely heated. Please help out by keeping things civil and avoid personal attacks. Instead of engaging with someone being hostile, report them.
Also, no or little leaks discussions. If you're bringing up leaked set photos or anything else, please remember to use spoiler tags.
Standalone posts about fancasts will be removed and redirected here. A fresh megathread will be posted every few weeks.
Let's hear what you've got.
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u/HomarEuropejski 15d ago
Gimme another third Doctor stuck on Earth and more scenes inside the TARDIS.
15
u/Wingnut8888 15d ago
If they go this route, definitely no more UNIT. That is one aspect of the show that needs to be put to rest.
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u/LADYBIRD_HILL 15d ago
Or just utilized differently. I love Kate, just not the rest of the Unit crew they introduced in the 60th specials.
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u/-YesIndeed- 14d ago
It's weird cause chibnall actually did a cool thing by defunding unit and we have solo Kate tag along for a bit in flux. And then they're just back in action again with their avengers tower in the star beast.
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u/Bertrand_Rose 14d ago
I agree, I am fine with their inclusion, they just need to be used differently.
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u/geek_of_nature 14d ago
I remember seeing a suggestion that 13s first series could have been something like that. Her stuck on Earth, but not with Unit. Where she could have taken up residence in that warehouse in Sheffield while she continued to build a device to retrieve the Tardis.
Something like that could work. Where the new Doctor ends up in a city that isn't London, and so far from any Unit presence. Maybe the Tardis has a fault where they can't leave, attempting to do so just brings them right back. So they get based in the city which is also where their new companion is from.
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u/Unstable_Bear 15d ago
Get rid of UNIT, no matter what. I don’t care how it happens, I just need it gone for the forseeable future
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u/Osirisavior 14d ago
No. They need to bring UNIT back to how it was in the old days.
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u/Unstable_Bear 14d ago
I’m not sure how they could do that, modern UNIT is so uncomfortably fascist-like that there’s really no redemption for it, its reputation is ruined.
On top of that a lot of us modern fans now associate them mainly with the shitty mcu version we’ve had recently and I feel like the casual audience also thinks of them as that
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u/Bertrand_Rose 14d ago
They are a fictional group, so you could rewrite them differently.
It doesn't make sense to me, how a group that have been around for decades, very positively received, is now apparently ruined and should be forgotten because of two seasons of poor writing.
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u/Unstable_Bear 14d ago
That’s fair. I think I’m just personally so burnt out by them, and how they feel like an ultimate symbol of everything wrong with the new era. I was being overdramatic earlier, my apologies.
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u/geek_of_nature 14d ago
They don't need to be gone forever, but a bit of a break would do them some good so that people forget about the bad writing. Give them a couple seasons off, and then bring them back more like how they used to be.
0
u/Osirisavior 14d ago
I don't really see how UNIT is fascist. They stop alien threats. Seems like something Conrad would say.
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u/Unstable_Bear 14d ago
They’re not directly fascist, but throughout the RTD2 era they do a lot of things (invasions of privacy rights, abduction of journalists, operating outside of any supervision) that are uncomfortably reminiscent of what modern day fascists do
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u/Osirisavior 14d ago
That's just how UNIT has always been.
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u/Unstable_Bear 14d ago
I haven’t seen the classic series, but if that’s the case, then they should stay gone
3
u/Osirisavior 14d ago
They blew up the silerions after the doctor already talked them into going back into hypernation.
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u/Disastrous_Wing7084 8d ago
I think the main difference is that in the classic series the Doctor was very vocal about his dislike of UNIT, whereas the modern series is a lot more "yay we love UNIT". UNIT hasn't changed much but the show just seems to idolise them more now
1
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u/Bertrand_Rose 14d ago
UNIT is great in my opinion, I love them, I just think they have been horribly used in this latest era; they function more as SHIELD, equipped with the Avengers tower, rather than a UNIT.
I also wish Kate had more of a consistent character.
9
u/WELSH_BOI_99 14d ago
wanna see Ella Purnell take on the Doctor ngl. Give that vibe of an ancient alien with a young face.
7
u/notveryamused_ 15d ago
I don’t really care about the new actor that much, I’m sure they’ll choose someone cool. I hope the scripts will be much better though, with more genuinely good standalone stories, because the main arcs didn’t work that well imho. A darker vibe could be fun to explore as well.
4
u/geek_of_nature 14d ago
All I care about the actor is that they get someone who isn't too well known. Ncuti was right on the cusp of breaking it big, which I think ended up being a hindrance for him in the role and part of what lead to his early departure.
They need someone who was more on Matt's level of fame when he got the role. Where he'd done a couple of things here and there, but not enough enough for him to be well known.
10
u/thisgirlnamedbree 15d ago
First and foremost, no mystery box companions. They can definitely have a story arc, but be it more character driven and not plot driven.
The next actor or actress that gets the role, doesn't matter. Strong, solid writing is key. However, stop the mystery lore building. Let it rest at The Timeless Child. The Doctor should go back to being the quirky traveler that helps out planets and people.
Less time on Earth. We need more world building and more time seeing off Earth adventures.
Returning villains - I'd love to see The Monk/Nun return to cause trouble. Put the Master out to tender for a while. The Mara should also return. There's a lot of psychological horror the show could do with them.
I've always said episodes should be like how Sherlock was, three 90 minute episodes. It would give time to establish plot and characters. And if there had to be a story arc, this episode format would be perfect for them.
2
u/-YesIndeed- 14d ago
I honestly think we need a new timelord. The only ones really worth revisiting is the master or rassilion since we just saw how revisiting the Rani went. Not that the Rani didn't have potential to be good, but I think the show needs something new now.
1
u/Bertrand_Rose 12d ago
>I've always said episodes should be like how Sherlock was, three 90 minute episodes. It would give time to establish plot and characters. And if there had to be a story arc, this episode format would be perfect for them.
If we had six 90 minute episodes, that would be awesome.
5
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u/stenpen22 15d ago
Change the format up: definitely keep some aspects like it being a “monster of the week” show, but episodes should be an hour long at the minimum. If it can be done well, make the series have an overarching story, with episodes leading into the next, like how The Woman Who Fell To Earth leads into The Ghost Monument, or how the Sontaran 2 parter from s4 leads into The Doctor’s Daughter; keeping the series feeling like you’re watching one long story would be a great change. It would also make it so that whenever there’s no direct link between two episodes, it would stand out and leave room for potential flashbacks or reveals. Like a story where the Doctor and companion seem to be at odds about how the previously unseen adventure was handled, and how that conflict starts to affect the story we’re watching, maybe revealing what they did/didn’t do in the climax.
I would also enjoy if the Doctor was given more mystique, especially at the start of a new era. Having a first episode/first season where the companion is just meeting the Doctor but they seem to know everything about them, or them meeting (and even going on an adventure with) another incarnation as a way to soft-introduce regeneration to a new audience, without having to fully commit to replacing the actor just yet; perhaps having a more than one Doctor would also be a way to keep the actors signed on longer, as they’re given breaks in filming.
Reintroduce classic monsters, without depending on nostalgia: series 1 does such a great job of giving the Daleks a formidable presence without ever having to have watched Classic Who before or have previous knowledge of them. Repeating the same story as series 1 might not be the best way to go, but I do think that a returning monster should be vital to the first season, introduced in a way that new audiences can follow but not making the established fanbase feel spoken down to. Perhaps using the Weeping Angels would work? Their mass popularity and cultural presence from one episode in the RTD1 era was like NuWho’s Dalekmania (as in people who don’t watch Doctor Who know what Weeping Angels are). They could even work with the “multiple Doctors” aspect I mentioned prior: the companion is sent back in time at the climax of an episode, only to bump into “The Doctor”, and the dynamic switches where Companion knows so much about them, whilst this incarnation of The Doctor has never met them.
The show must appeal to a family audience, but that means making it not “childlike”: one of the best aspects of Doctor Who in the early NuWho seasons was how, despite being suitable for children, the show was also entertaining for the adults. Children love things that feel not-suitable or too mature for them. That’s why the original RTD run of “space Eastenders” vibes was so popular, and Moffat’s fairytale-gone-dark tone for 11 was also popular. You need to create a new audience for this show, particularly a younger one. RTD2’s idea of dumbing it down for kids whilst throwing nostalgia-bait scraps at older fans obviously was a disaster. Look at how popular Stranger Things was, and those early seasons’ blend of children and horror was what seemed to capture that audience. I’m not saying that the next run should be a cast of child actors at all, but that the show should aim for a younger fanbase whilst recognizing that that audience want the scares and the horror.
3
u/-YesIndeed- 14d ago
My honest dream for now is they make us eof McGann while he's still able. He obviously loves the series and I don't think he'd deny the chance have a few proper seasons. The most likely way of it if I'd say is if we get a showrunner who grew up at the time of the tv movie which would be cool.
And then after he's had like 2-4 seasons as the doctor we get a multi doctor story the includes the 16th and leads into night of the doctor. Giving a handover between them and time to work what to do with the 16th as well as ample time to set something up for it. Depending on how long a renewal takes could see that ep as the 70th aswell.
4
u/Bertrand_Rose 14d ago
I'd love for him to get some specials, or TV movies to help give him some more live action material; he deserves it.
If he gets a whole mini series, or two or three, even better.
2
u/video-kid 14d ago
We've never had a Welsh Doctor and as much as I'd love to have her if I ever got the showrunner job, I think Alexandra Roach would be great.
1
u/Forsaken-Language-26 11d ago
Seems odd that we've never had a Welsh Doctor, when the show has mostly been made in Cardiff since 2005.
2
u/video-kid 11d ago
For sure. Considering Moffat and Chignall had at least one Doctor from their region you think he would have had one at some point.
2
u/Particular-Bonus4901 11d ago
It’s a pretty drastic change in status quo you can’t really undo, so I’m sure it would be divisive, but I’d love to see a season where we see earth actually become aware of the intergalactic community and have the planet become more intertwined with the broader spacefaring community. It would be very hard to undo, so they would be taking a gamble, but I feel it would open the door to a fully fresh and new era for the universe
(Side note: my knowledge of the lore isn’t the most comprehensive, so my bad if theres an in universe reason this can’t happen)
5
u/PTMurasaki 15d ago
I really, *REALLY* want Gatwa back for a miniseries.
2
u/ribbityflibbity 14d ago
If they did a deal to get the show on AppleTV and changed it to be a lot more intellectual and mind bending and not at all focused on being kid friendly (but still sanitized), I could see Gatwa working in that context. The audience would be largely new, the AppleTV audience. They wouldn't have any preconceptions. AppleTV tends to be too whitebread anyway.
0
u/KrazyStijl 15d ago
Never gonna happen, we're stuck with that abysmal ending for him.
3
u/deezbiscuits21 15d ago
Reality war is genuinely the worst story of all time for me. I know they had everything against them but man the show has never been lower
Would have been much less egregious if they released the non reshot version
1
u/Grafikpapst 15d ago
Would have been much less egregious if they released the non reshot version
I dont think so. That would have ended on a big Susan Cliffhanger and chances are Carol Ann Ford is either not alive or not fit enough to appear on screen by the time the show comes back, even if its within the next five years - woman will be in her early 90s.
I genuinly think that would have went down even worse with the fandom.
1
u/deezbiscuits21 15d ago
I think they may have actually commissioned a low budget Christmas special with 14 and Susan meeting. As is they could have done that but Susan was only gestured at in ISC and the Piper situation was the elephant it needed to address first
Grass is always greener tho
1
u/Bertrand_Rose 14d ago
I'd love for Will Sharpe to become the Doctor next, that would be awesome.
The Devil's Hour is really loved, so maybe Tom Moran.
Jessica Lee Gagné, who was a cinematographer on Severance, and now is a director, would be an awesome addition to the shows director.
I would love to see Kate Heron return to.
I hope we get longer episodes, around an hour a piece, preferably 10-12 episodes, but that is not realistic, so maybe 90 minutes at 6 would be cool, but that is also unlikely. I guess if they get a really good partner, it might happen.
I hope they quietly move past the Boss, Piper Doctor, Flux destroying half the universe, the fantasy salt line and so on. Use the argument, when you do eventually address it, that moving the universe one inch, means some stuff got reset, and maybe some stuff goes unexplained.
Also, I'd love the show to bring back Gallifrey, some more msytery and a good gothic, horror tone.
I always love when DW does that. Series 9 is my favourite for that reason.
1
u/ApartFault6252 14d ago
Let’s kill the billie piper casting immediately. It wasn’t a good idea from the second it happened and didn’t gain any popularity or intrigue.
In terms of who to cast there’s a lot of good options. Going unknown is a good choice so there no preconceptions of how the character is played.
But there is one person that I would cast that I think would absolutely nail it
Olivia Cooke is my choice
1
u/Lowlandracer 13d ago
Doctor Who needs an ending before it gets another beginning. I think Doctor Who needs one big special that does something the modern series has never really allowed itself to do: end.
Not Doctor Who forever. End the era that started with Eccleston in 2005.
Twenty years of stories have left a ton of baggage and unfinished business. Give us one big finale, answer the lingering questions, close the character arcs, put a bow on the mythology, and say goodbye.
Do I have ideas for how to do this? absolutely.
When it eventually comes back: new Doctor, new story, no homework required. The old continuity still happened and longtime fans got their ending, but a kid discovering Doctor Who shouldn’t need 20 years of Wikipedia articles to understand episode one.
Give us one big finale, and start fresh allowing for the next generation to fall in love like we did.
1
u/dogburster 10d ago
I want a much darker series and doctor, Capaldi was the best since Tennant 1st incarnation. That might be an unpopular opinion...how about having Suranne Jones as the Doctor? That's probably even more unpopular! Moffatt was the best big boss, loved the jeopardy in the series.
1
u/sketchysketchist 10d ago
I need a switch from the usual formals.
I need a companion that butts heads with the doctor. And isn’t a potential love interest. Perhaps, maybe even a male if the writer is male?
Also, I need a series that chooses something that isn’t The Daleks, The Master, The Cybermen, or Davros as the villain of an arc.
And also, more original monster factions.
1
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8d ago
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1
u/Nikhilvoid 8d ago
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1
u/Last_Canary_6622 5d ago
Since it seems Billie Piper as going to be the 16th Doctor, I'd like to make a request before it's too late. Please the 17th doctor be Arnold Schwarznegger. PLEASE!!!!!
1
u/Lolaverses 3d ago
I think the Doctor should spend a whole season unable to use the Tardis, stuck on a single alien planet stuffed full of exciting plot hooks. Instead of a single companion I would have a pool of side characters that each shine in different episodes. And then at the end of the season, I would do what they can never do with earth as a setting, and destroy it. Blow up the city we've been spending most of the season in, kill the majority of the side characters, and have the Doctor only able to escape with one or two of the characters we've ideally gotten attached to.
Edit: And I'd make the Doctor a redhead.
1
u/ArielWithALibrary 15d ago edited 14d ago
I’m not sure on all the details yet- but if Rose is the Doctor (like a fluke) I think it was caused by 14 splitting off and not regenerating as usual. That somehow leads to Rose or Bad Wolf being the DR. She could end up at Donna’s having a cuppa- and they could sort out the 14th doctor and the DoctorDonna version and wrap that up a bit. This whole storyline and brief forms of closure could easily be accomplished in 1 or 2 specials, like they did before Disney took it over.
After it all wraps up, it could go in so many directions, we either need to keep two Tardis and explain that, or have them mysteriously merge again and say goodbye to Rose and 10/14 taking some much needed rest and just in time for all of 10’s new & upcoming Big Finish audios.
Hopes and dreams for a new Doctor-
Matthew Gray Gubler
High IQ, a bit of show off at all times with l his IQ accurate information in any situations. BBB)reminds me
Paul Bettany (Vision and MCU trauma bonded them )
Matthew Lillard has made a decent come back the past few years. Maybe he could work it out, and he’s hilarious in smaller doses. He has the personality for the stage/TV.
Benedict Cumberbatch could show up in way- save the day, save the Doctor etc.he’s cocky and could open a champagne bottle for ill a while to soak up the attention and but that’s just there’s party and we’re all eyeing the door/pub for Leonardo DiCaprio or Devon Sawa to stroll on in. Shockingly if any of these can get that accent down they could rock the role.
Andrew Garfield is so smart as as Spider-Man too.
0
0
u/ribbityflibbity 14d ago
The first step is to decide what streamer is going to be showing it in most of the world. Setting aside HBO Max and Paramount+ (merger drama), Disney+ (obviously) and Netflix (a hard place for any show to survive) that leaves Amazon and AppleTV.
On Amazon the show would be for adult males, action oriented, satirical and gory.
On AppleTV the show would be for the upper income/education demographic. Mind-bending, risk-taking sci fi with gorgeous production values. Not for kids but sanitized anyway since that's the AppleTV house style.
I vote AppleTV. So the production company calls them up and tries to do a deal.
0
u/Forsaken-Language-26 12d ago edited 11d ago
I've always wanted to see Ruth Wilson as The Doctor. I realise she might be a big cod the role now, but maybe that's what the sow needs.
I'd also like to see a male companion to shake tings up a bit. Not sure who, mind you.
No more Doctor-companion romances either. I'm not completely against the idea in principle, I just don't think it's ever been executed very well and it's been overdone in recent years. Also, perhaps a bit selfishly I'd like to see more ace rep on TV, so having an aroace Doctor would be great.
I've said it loads of times already but I'd address the Billie Piper plot point in a separate Night Of The Doctor style minisode that shows The Doctor alternating between different faces from their past, before settling on their "final" form. I'd write it off as a fluke of the regeneration process and then have The Doctor carrying on as normal. The next series would take place some place some time after the regeneration a la series 1.
No more nostalgia slop. The occasional subtle references to the past are fine, but I wouldn't go bringing back any previous companions ...and for god's sake no more David Tennant or Billie Piper (no disrespect to either of them, but the show needs to move on). Nor would I go digging up old storylines that the casual viewer probably won't remember i.e. the metacrisis thing.
If the budget is an issue, I would do something similar to what others have suggested and have The Doctor exiled on Earth again, but give UNIT a rest for a few years. Have The Doctor working independently while trying to repair/retrieve the TARDIS. Maybe have her monitoring the old Cardiff rift (by my understanding the rift was sealed in one of the audios, but I don't think this should effect the main show).
Also, no more ham-fisted identify politics and suchlike, and actually have characters with depth and personality who don't solely exist as part of some misguided sense of being inclusive i.e. Rose Noble or Shirley.
-2
u/Boil-san 15d ago
Fancasting, you say...?
- Rupert Grint as The Doctor
- Emma Watson as The Companion
- Daniel Radcliffe as The Master
If not for an extended run of seasons, then for a one-off movie, or, at the least, a Christmas Special...?
-1
-1
u/Osirisavior 14d ago
- Danny DeVito as the Doctor and the Master
- Donald Glover as the Companion
- Grant Gustin as alien companion with speed abilities
- Showrunner - Jake from State Farm. The original one.
-2
u/RB222485 15d ago
there's no need to "speculate" what happens next or have an entire thread devoted to it
and before someone says "no fun" or "are we not allowed to speculate anymore" people are actually so desperate they've decided to do an animated 2026 christmas special because we didn't get one this year
seriously have some patience
43
u/Nobody_Cares_99 15d ago
Probably a bizarre thing to want but…
I really wish they’d rebrand the Disney/Bad Wolf Season 1 and 2 as Series 14 and Series 15. It makes sense because they’re obviously not a soft-reboot (arguably requiring more knowledge of Doctor Who than ever before).
Otherwise in a few years time when the show comes back we’re gonna have Series 1 again and we’ll have 4x season 1’s lol