Doctor Who will say goodbye to star Jodie Whittaker and showrunner Chris Chibnall later this year, and while we know Russell T. Davies will replace Chibnall as showrunner, we still don’t know who will play the next Doctor. While details on the BBC series’ next regeneration are still unknown, there’s a pretty big rumor floating around regarding plans for the upcoming 60th anniversary, and they involve David Tennant and a few other big names.
A new rumor alleges that David Tennant will return to Doctor Who in order to reprise his role as The Doctor in one or more specials that Davies is reportedly planning for the 60th anniversary that will bring about an adventure for all the Doctors from the past, or as many as possible at least. The Sun reported Jodie Whittaker will pass the baton to Tennant, and that other former Doctors such as Christopher Eccleston, Matt Smith, and Peter Capaldi, may appear as well.
The idea of a multi-Doctor special isn’t a radical idea, and it's something Doctor Who did in its past. The 50th anniversary brought back David Tennant as The Doctor, as well as many Doctors of the past, present, and future. That’s just one of many examples, though, in which actors who formerly played the Doctor returned to the franchise in some capacity to play the role alongside that of another Doctor.
To say this rumor is massive is a bit of an understatement. Many Doctor Who fans consider Tennant one of the best Doctors of all time, so it’s always a given they’d like to see him return. As for Matt Smith, he hasn’t reappeared in Doctor Who since his brief appearance in Peter Capaldi’s first full episode as The Doctor. Capaldi was the last Time Lord before Jodie Whittaker and hasn’t been in the series since his departure.
As for Christopher Eccleston, he hasn’t appeared in the Doctor Who TV show following his exit over issues behind-the-scenes. In the years that followed, has made it clear he didn’t enjoy his time on the show, even if he still loves the character. In recent years, it seems he’s mended that bridge with the franchise considerably and even did audio dramas as his iconic Doctor. Eccleston skipped out on the 50th anniversary special when given the opportunity, so his return for the big 60 would be huge.
This rumor is exciting, though it’s important to note absolutely nothing about it is confirmed. All we know is that Russell T. Davies has a plan for his big Doctor Who return and that Steven Moffat hyped fans up about it not that long ago. Plus, it's safe to think the BBC does indeed want to go big for the noteworthy anniversary. A rumor that literally every Doctor from the reboot era (minus Whittaker it seems) will appear in one big adventure is an exciting rumor, but it also sounds like borderline fan fiction. In short, I’d take it with a grain of salt but will concede that with anniversary seasons, the franchise is good at making some incredible things happen.
Doctor Who doesn’t have a special coming up just yet, but fans looking to watch the series can do so with an HBO Max subscription. If David Tennant and others are returning to the franchise, now would be the best time to go back and binge some of the best episodes.
