Ncuti Gatwa Confirms Doctor Who Season 3 Return (And Sooner Than Expected)

Doctor Who‘s historic run was revolutionized in some major ways earlier this year, with Ncuti Gatwa stepping into the role of the Fifteenth Doctor. Even with Doctor Who being a bonafide cultural hit, there has been no confirmation that the series is renewed for a third season through its partnership with Disney+, with showrunner Russell T. Davies indicating earlier this year that the decision was still in flux. Gatwa recently provided an encouraging update during a recent appearance on The Graham Norton Show, revealing that he is not only sticking around as The Doctor, but that filming on Season 3 of the Disney+ era will begin in 2025.

“It is all going well,” Gatwa revealed. “We did the second series this year, the Christmas special is coming up, and we are filming a third series next year.”

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When Will Doctor Who Return With New Episodes?

Doctor Who will next return with a 2024 Christmas special, which is written by former showrunner Steven Moffat and stars Bridgerton‘s Nicola Coughlan in a mystery role. Season 2 (under the Disney+ branding) of Doctor Who has already wrapped production, although an exact release date has yet to be set. Both Gatwa and Ruby Sunday actress Millie Gibson are confirmed to return for Season 2, as well as Varada Sethu as a mysterious second companion.

“It feels so much fun now,” Gatwa previously said of acclimating to the role. “I’ve relaxed and [the Doctor] seems to have sunk down a little bit deeper, from my chest into my gut.”

Is Doctor Who Getting a New Spinoff?

At this year’s San Diego Comic-Con, it was announced that Doctor Who will be getting a new spinoff miniseries, titled The War Between the Land and the Sea. In The War Between the Land and the Sea, when a fearsome and ancient species emerges from the ocean, dramatically revealing themselves to humanity, an international crisis is triggered. With the entire population at risk, UNIT steps into action as the land and sea wage war. The War Between the Land and the Sea is produced by Bad Wolf, with BBC Studios for Disney Branded Television and BBC. The War Between the Land and the Sea will star Russell Tovey (Feud, American Horror Story: NYC) and Gugu Mbatha-Raw (Surface, Loki), alongside Doctor Who veterans Jemma Redgrave as Kate Lethbridge-Stewart and Alexander Devrient as Colonel Ibrahim.  

“I’m so lucky to work with such a magnificent cast,” Davies says in a press release when the series was first announced. “And this is a huge, muscular, thrilling drama which will shake The Whoniverse to its foundations. When the Doctor’s not in town, the whole of humanity is in trouble.”

The first season of Doctor Who is available to stream exclusively on Disney+. If you haven’t signed up for Disney+ yet, you can try it out here.

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