As fans likely know by now, ‘Doctor Who’ showrunner Steven Moffat and current Doctor portrayer Peter Capaldi will be leaving the long-running British sci-fi show at this season’s end, paving the way for a new era of ‘Who’ to commence. Chris Chibnall will be taking over showrunner duties, and while no new actor or actress has expressly been announced to take over the mantle of the titular character, rumors have been swirling for quite some time.
One of the biggest pushes from fans has been that of having the Doctor regenerate into a female. Once thought something that a Time Lord physically could not do, over the last few seasons of the show we have actually seen Gallifreyans swap genders when they regenerate, most notably in the form of current “Master” Missy, portrayed by Michelle Gomez, whose previous regenerations have all been male.
So, it can happen, we know this for a fact – it just hasn’t happened with the Doctor… yet. When Moffat was asked in a recent interview about why he didn’t have the Doctor regenerate into a female during his tenure as showrunner, he answered thusly:
“I didn’t not cast a woman… I cast a man. I didn’t [cast a woman] because I wanted to cast Matt Smith and I wanted to cast Peter Capaldi. I didn’t think it was a terrible idea [to cast a woman], I just thought, ‘I want to cast those people’ – that was it.”
No official word has been released yet about the casting of Capaldi’s successor, but one would think that an announcement will be coming sometime soon, given that there are only three episodes left in the current season (plus the Christmas special, of course).
The tenth series (season) of ‘Doctor Who’ airs on Saturday nights on BBC America.
Tony Schaab wonders which a courteous zombie would prefer most: if you gave him a hand, played it by ear, got something off your chest, kept your chin up, stuck your neck out, or just gave him something off the top of your head? A lover of most things sci-fi and horror, Tony is an author by day and a DJ by night. Come hang out with Tony on Twitter or follow him on Facebook to hear him spew semi-funny nonsense and get your opportunity to finally put him in his place.
