The BBC plans to go all out with next year's 60th-anniversary celebrations for Doctor Who, including casting The Matrix Resurrections star Neil Patrick Harris as the show's big bad.
Based on what we've seen in set photos, the belief is that he's playing the evil Toymaster, with his machinations somehow involving David Tennant's Tenth Doctor. Of course, Sex Education star Ncuti Gatwa is set to play the latest incarnation of the iconic time-traveller, and it goes without saying he'll also be front and centre in 2023.
Fans are also hyped that his tenure will be under the watchful eye of Russell T Davis, the writer responsible for bringing Doctor Who back to our screens in 2005. His return has been celebrated, and the hope is Russell will bring a greater level of diversity to the franchise beyond just Gatwa's casting.
Harris has already suggested that the actor is playing the franchise's first gay Doctor, but he's now shared some possible intel on his villainous character as well.
During a recent interview with Wired (via SFFGazette.com), the actor confirmed that he recently finished shooting his Doctor Who role. "I was just in London filming an episode special for Doctor Who where I play someone I'm not allowed to talk about," Harris teased. "And I had to have a posh British accent...Or did I?"
That's an interesting tease, though we're unlikely to learn more about the character until much later this year. A Doctor Who "Centenary Special" is set to air at the end of 2022 that will see Jodie Whittaker and showrunner Chris Chibnall depart the series, so we have that to look forward to before these anniversary celebrations begin.
We're excited to see this new era of Doctor Who storytelling take shape, and it seems fair to say Gatwa will put a fresh spin on the Time Lord. He's the first Black actor to play the character, and it sounds like this next iteration is also going to explore his sexuality in a way we haven't necessarily seen before.
That alone is a big step forward for the franchise, and enlisting Harris to play the big bad in next year's special is going to kick this new era off with a bang.