Peter Capaldi May Leave Doctor Who After Tenth Series

[Fanghawk]

Peter Capaldi May Leave Doctor Who After Tenth Series

//cdn.themis-media.com/media/global/images/library/deriv/1262/1262312.jpgDoctor Who Series 10 will be Steven Moffat's last, and perhaps Peter Capaldi's as well.

I've grown rather fond of <a href=http://www.escapistmagazine.com/tag/view/peter%20capaldi?os=peter+capaldi>Peter Capaldi's Twelfth Doctor over the past two years. While Doctor Who fans were skeptical of this regeneration at first, <a href=http://www.escapistmagazine.com/articles/view/moviesandtv/reviews/12586-Doctor-Who-Death-in-Heaven-Season-8-Finale-Review#&gid=gallery_3489&pid=1>Capaldi's performance went a long way towards belaying concerns and Series 9 cemented his legacy as a fantastic Doctor. But now that Steven Moffat has announced he'll be stepping down as executive producer, Doctor Who will be going through some changes. And if the rumor mill is to believed, one of those changes will be Capaldi saying goodbye to the role in Series 10.

Let's focus on the facts first: Steven Moffat revealed last weekend that his Doctor Who run would conclude in 2017, at which point Broadchurch creator Chris Chibnall will take over. This was quickly followed by a source within the BBC telling the Daily Mirror that Doctor Who's fresh slate might include a new Doctor. "Bosses are already discussing a fresh start when Steven leaves," says the source. "They've been happy with what Peter has brought to the role but some think it might make sense to give Chris his own choice of actor to play the Doctor."

While this is absolutely still a rumor, it wouldn't be unprecedented. When executive producer Russell T Davies left the series in 2009, Tenth Doctor David Tennant went with him. This provided an opening for Moffat and Matt Smith to develop an Eleventh Doctor who remains a fan favorite today. BBC may wish to recreate that dynamic for Series 11, choosing an actor who better reflects the direction Chibnall decides to follow.

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Personally, I'm not ready for Capaldi to leave at all. He developed a truly compelling Doctor over the past two seasons, and now all I want are more adventures with a new companion. That said, if Capaldi's role were coming to an end, that would lend a stronger dramatic weight to the events of Series 10. Moffat and Capaldi would have an entire season to make sure they ended on a high note - and that would be worth seeing.

Whatever happens, Capaldi will get one more Doctor Who Christmas special in 2016, followed by a tenth series in 2017. And unless one of you has a Tardis that can show us how the future unfolds, we'll have to wait for a specific answer later this year.

Source: GamesRadar

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[the December King]

I haven't had a chance to see Capaldi as the Doctor yet, but it's on my list, and definitely up my alley. As for a choice for a new Doctor, I don't really know what to say... this has come up in the past on this site, especially as to whether the Doctor could be played by a woman, or another ethnicity. Technically? I don't see why not, it's been implied that the process could cause the Doctor to regenerate as a woman in the past (but I can't remember if race was ever brought up), and implemented with the Master. Personally? I'd rather another scruffy, old, white professor-type (I was a huge Tom Baker fan).

 

[Something Amyss]

I was actually kind of assuming that Capaldi would leave and we'd have another overall changing of the guard. It was already rumoured 10 would be his last, so, I'll just say this.

No matter how cool you are, you will never be Peter Capaldi riding a tank, playing a guitar solo cool:

Spoiler

I don't see why not, it's been implied that the process could cause the Doctor to regenerate as a woman in the past (but I can't remember if race was ever brought up)

It's been outright demonstrated to be the case that Time Lords can swap gender.

 

[Fu11Frontal]

Not super surprising. Every modern doctor with the exception of Nine did a three year stint, although Ten also had those specials. Capaldi is a wonderful doctor, but these things change. If Broadchurch is any indication, I'm sure Who is due to become a meditation on contempt for human nature and secrets that destroy relationships, so yay for that!

 

[TheVampwizimp_v1legacy]

I was actually kind of assuming that Capaldi would leave and we'd have another overall changing of the guard. It was already rumoured 10 would be his last, so, I'll just say this.

No matter how cool you are, you will never be Peter Capaldi riding a tank, playing a guitar solo cool:

Spoiler

I don't see why not, it's been implied that the process could cause the Doctor to regenerate as a woman in the past (but I can't remember if race was ever brought up)

It's been outright demonstrated to be the case that Time Lords can swap gender.

And ethnicity. Or rather, the ethnicity of the actor at least. We probably can't apply those paradigms to Gallifreyan heritages.

Anyway, I do quite like Peter Capaldi, but considering that series 10 will be his third, and no one seems to want to do more than that, I already figured he would leave after. I'll be sad to see him go, and excited to see how the show changes.

 

[Something Amyss]

And ethnicity. Or rather, the ethnicity of the actor at least. We probably can't apply those paradigms to Gallifreyan heritages.

Hell, just the fact that Capaldi distinguishes himself as Scottish should indicate something.

As far as staying past 3 seasons, I suppose it at least prevents them from overstaying their welcome. I could have done with a little more Eccleston and Smith, though. I'll probably feel the same about Capaldi when he's done, though I won't know until I've seen that third series.

 

[the December King]

It's been outright demonstrated to be the case that Time Lords can swap gender.

Understood - as I said, I reckoned the Master was a good example of that.

And, yeah, I would have liked a bit more of Eccleston's run as Doctor too- when I first saw him in the role, I just wasn't sure... but his Doctor really grew on me.

 

[ecoho]

honestly stopped watching when he lost his last companion, just didn't see the point.

 

[FPLOON]

Well, I refuse to accept this fate... and now I'm going to create a time loop in the hopes that there will be a fourth series for this particular Doctor, only to realize that I'm more selfish than I thought by not letting Capaldi just leave on his own terms...

Other than that, I'm with Amyss when regarding the next [pending] regeneration, though:

No matter how cool you are, you will never be Peter Capaldi riding a tank, playing a guitar solo cool:

Spoiler

 

[Li Mu]

The next doctor will be either a woman, black or both.
It's part of the BBC's desperate attempt to look progressive. Perhaps the next Doctor will be transgender.
But actually, if the BBC wanted to be representative of race, they should make the next Doctor asian, since asians make up the largest ethnic minority in the UK.

A Doctor from India? I'd be totally up for an Indian Doctor Who.

 

[TallanKhan]

The next doctor will be either a woman, black or both.
It's part of the BBC's desperate attempt to look progressive. Perhaps the next Doctor will be transgender.
But actually, if the BBC wanted to be representative of race, they should make the next Doctor asian, since asians make up the largest ethnic minority in the UK.

A Doctor from India? I'd be totally up for an Indian Doctor Who.

Well they have a habit of taking people who have appeared in bit-parts and cameo appearances and bringing them into the main cast - Peter Capaldi himself being an example - and we did see Sanjeev Bhaskar, who I think would make an awesome Doctor, appear in the season 8 finale. That could be fun.

On the rumour that he will leave, lets wait and see. I think we heard this rumour after season 2 as well so am personally taking this with a pinch of salt. As far as the "David Tennant and Matt Smith both moved on after 3 seasons" precedent goes, it's a valid observation but I would be cautious of reading too much into it. Both DT and MS were less established as actors prior to their stints as The Doctor, and as such the risk of being type-cast as a sci-fi actor was a bigger risk. Peter Capaldi had his breakout role years ago so doesn't have that same risk. Also, DT and MS, as they both stated wanted to try different things, and had different career aspirations. As a more seasoned actor, Peter Capaldi has likely done most of his "self-discovery as an actor" work and thus has the luxury of pursuing a role he enjoys for as long as he likes without fear of missing out in the same way.

 

[Albino Boo]

The next Dr will be a white man largely because of the twiiter rights lynch mob have made so much noise about it. The BBC already suffers from the perception that it's made by Guardian readers for Guardian readers and it cannot be seen to bow to pressure from twitter activists. Which is shame because there are plenty of actors who could have made a good Dr but won't get the job because some people can't work out that if you try to impose your views you will annoy everyone else. Sanjeev Bhaskar would have a been a brilliant Dr Who, so would Adrian Lester and if you could persuade Miriam Margolyes to play the role that would be brilliant.

 

[Flatfrog]

if you could persuade Miriam Margolyes to play the role that would be brilliant.

If there's one woman who people might accept, it's her; a great suggestion.
A while back I read a lovely blog post where someone created an alternative history of female Doctors, recasting all of them up to Matt Smith. I particularly remember they had Sue Perkins in the David Tennant role, which I thought was brilliant - and Penelope Keith as Tom Baker was rather inspired as well.
Looking at it now, I see they had Miriam Margolyes in there too - as the Sixth Doctor (Colin Baker)

 

[JoJo]

The next doctor will be either a woman, black or both.
It's part of the BBC's desperate attempt to look progressive. Perhaps the next Doctor will be transgender.
But actually, if the BBC wanted to be representative of race, they should make the next Doctor asian, since asians make up the largest ethnic minority in the UK.

A Doctor from India? I'd be totally up for an Indian Doctor Who.

Eh, people were saying that before Smith and Capaldi were announced as taking the role, and clearly it didn't happen then. Maybe it will happen this time, I have a feeling though that the BBC wouldn't want to risk changing the formula and slaying the golden goose, so to speak. A South Asian companion is long overdue though, I think that would be a good way to go.

 

[maninahat]

The next doctor will be either a woman, black or both.
It's part of the BBC's desperate attempt to look progressive. Perhaps the next Doctor will be transgender.
But actually, if the BBC wanted to be representative of race, they should make the next Doctor asian, since asians make up the largest ethnic minority in the UK.

A Doctor from India? I'd be totally up for an Indian Doctor Who.

Eh, people were saying that before Smith and Capaldi were announced as taking the role, and clearly it didn't happen then. Maybe it will happen this time, I have a feeling thoiugh that the BBC wouldn't want to risk changing the formula and slaying the golden goose, so to speak. A South Asian companion is long overdue though, I think that would be a good way to go.

A far better idea is to wait until Doctor Who as a series is coming to an end, and hand the baton off to a spin off show about other timelords. That way they can have way better license to chop and change the format (more female and doctors of colour), whilst still keeping some of the legacy of the previous franchise.

A non-white, non-male doctor would be met with a backlash, would feel too little too late for people wanting more diverse doctors, and would only really give the show one crack at diversity anyway. Plus it would fuck up my fan theory that Dr Who is one big metaphor for British Colonialism.

 

[Sixcess]

The next doctor will be either a woman, black or both.

They'll talk about it again, but they won't do it.

One of the active rumours at the moment is that even if he wants to stay past series 10 the BBC has no intention of asking Capaldi to stay because they want another younger Doctor. Apparently they've seen a downturn in their merchandising sales during 12's run so they want another young 'cool nerd' 'boyfriend' Doctor.

If merchandising is so important to the show that it can influence the choice of the next Doctor then the chance of the next Doctor being a woman is exactly zero because they're not good for merchandising - just ask Scarlett Johansson.

The BBC will talk about it, of course, just like they always do - it's good for free media coverage and it makes them appear to be 'progressive' - but they will not do it. I doubt they'll take a single step out of their white-english-male-under-40 comfort zone.

 

[Flatfrog]

The BBC will talk about it, of course, just like they always do - it's good for free media coverage and it makes them appear to be 'progressive' - but they will not do it. I doubt they'll take a single step out of their white-english-male-under-40 comfort zone.

I'm actually considering putting down a bet that the next Doctor will be non-white. There's simply no good reason why he shouldn't be, it's an easy win for the BBC's diversity, which has been under fire recently, and like Capaldi it's an opportunity to change the tone a little. We had three rather similar Doctors in a row with Eccleston/Tennant/Smith (yes, I know they had their differences, but they were all earnest, excitable, shouty types), a return to more of the same would seem very unadventurous.

A female Doctor would be much more interesting but I don't think the BBC will take that risk.

If I had to put my money on anyone, I'd pick Adrian Lester as the most obvious choice. He's got proven credentials in leading a long-running series with lots of different tones, and he's got a nice unthreatening middle-class English accent. Sanjeev Baskar is a nice idea but I don't think it's likely. Adeel Akhtar would be a good Asian choice, though - he's on the up right now and he was fantastic in both Utopia and Capital - and showed some great comic cred in Four Lions as well!

 

[Albino Boo]

The BBC will talk about it, of course, just like they always do - it's good for free media coverage and it makes them appear to be 'progressive' - but they will not do it. I doubt they'll take a single step out of their white-english-male-under-40 comfort zone.

I'm sorry but that utter nonsense. The demographic for those that watch is Dr Who 6-70. Those spend their time commenting about it on forums and twitter is not a representation of those that watch it. Its the same way that twitter activist don't represent the whole country. Perhaps remembering the result of the last general election and comparing it to twitter trends. Its worth remembering there are far more people that drive white vans than tweet and an organisation that is paid through a mandatory license fee can't just make programs to keep middle class Guardian readers happy.

 

[Thaluikhain]

I was actually kind of assuming that Capaldi would leave and we'd have another overall changing of the guard. It was already rumoured 10 would be his last, so, I'll just say this.

No matter how cool you are, you will never be Peter Capaldi riding a tank, playing a guitar solo cool:

Spoiler

Yes, let us never speak of that ever again. Nor the sonic sunglasses Moffatt trolled us with.

 

[Trooper924]

On the rumour that he will leave, lets wait and see. I think we heard this rumour after season 2 as well so am personally taking this with a pinch of salt. As far as the "David Tennant and Matt Smith both moved on after 3 seasons" precedent goes, it's a valid observation but I would be cautious of reading too much into it. Both DT and MS were less established as actors prior to their stints as The Doctor, and as such the risk of being type-cast as a sci-fi actor was a bigger risk. Peter Capaldi had his breakout role years ago so doesn't have that same risk. Also, DT and MS, as they both stated wanted to try different things, and had different career aspirations. As a more seasoned actor, Peter Capaldi has likely done most of his "self-discovery as an actor" work and thus has the luxury of pursuing a role he enjoys for as long as he likes without fear of missing out in the same way.

I'm with this. Until we get official confirmation om BBC or Capaldi, we probably shouldn't take this too seriously.