Ncuti Gatwa Named As The Next Doctor In BBC’s ‘Doctor Who’
This weekend started as being about one doctor, and now it is also about another. It is about the madness of a man with a box. While he did not get a televised reveal special or even a promo during the Wimbledon finals, we now know who is next to take up the TARDIS on Doctor Who.
Early in the morning on May 8, U.S. time, BBC and social media outlets announced that Ncuti Gatwa (pronounced SHOO-tee Gah-twah) had been cast as the Fourteenth Doctor, succeeding Jodie Whittaker's Thirteenth Doctor. He is Rwandan-Scottish, and will be 30 by the time his first full story airs, making him among the youngest of the Doctor actors. He is of course the first black actor to play the role of the Doctor. Gatwa is best known for his role in the Netflix series Sex Education. I can only imagine this means he will be departing as a series regular. It is unknown if he will make any guest appearances in the series in the future. Just a few weeks ago, Gatwa was also cast in Warner Bros’ Barbie movie starring Margot Robbie.
RELATED:
Now, there are some concerns as to why this announcement is so low-key compared to the last two castings. Personally, I feel that the explanation is far simpler and does not require any conspiracy. We are still in a pandemic. We do not need a crew for this, and putting one together for either format would be more trouble than it is worth. Maybe they could have booked a talk show. However, there is really nothing to worry about that the announcement was done this way.
It is unclear how much of the Fourteenth Doctor we will actually see in 2023. A quick Twitter browse shows we may see more than just the Doctor Who 60th Anniversary special this year. However, this is all just unconfirmed rumors and speculation. Gatwa’s Fourteenth Doctor also brings in a new showrunner era. This will be Russel T. Davies’ second stint in the role after overseeing the Ninth and Tenth Doctors, kicking off the show's revival from 2005 to 2009.
It would be very annoying to have to wait until 2024 for Gatwa's first full series after essentially two gap years, the shortest modern series the year before that, and two ten-episode series after previous years of longer twelve-episode and thirteen-episode series. Whatever happens, it is still going to be very exciting to see Gatwa in the role. While I would have loved to see another woman, especially a woman of color, take the role, I really like this casting choice. Gatwa will bring different elements from what we have seen before, and I'm very much looking forward to it.
READ NEXT:
Source(s): BBC, Digital Spy