Well, this doesn’t feel ominous at all. Right on the heels of Jodie Whittaker’s messy finale outing as the Time-Lord, Disney has announced that the future adventures of Doctor Who will be going straight to the Disney+ streaming service, assuming you live outside of the United Kingdom and Ireland, where the venerable sci-fi series will stay on the BBC.
The switch begins with the three-episode Doctor Who special starring David Tennant as the Tenth Fourteenth Doctor airing late in 2023. To be clear, Disney hasn’t bought Doctor Who the franchise, just the broadcast rights, so don’t worry that the Guardians of the Galaxy will be bumping into the TARDIS in the near future. But, of course, if Disney wanted to, they could literally drown every BBC executive in cash and take over the series the second it felt inclined, so...
“It is the best of both worlds,” returning showrunner Russell T. Davies said of the new teaming. “The vision and joy of the BBC and Disney+ together we can launch the TARDIS all around the planet, reaching a new generation of fans while keeping our traditional home firmly on the BBC in the UK.”
Davies also debuted the show’s new logo, which looks a hell of a lot like the show’s old logo from the ‘70s, during its heyday with Tom Baker as the Fourth Doctor. What that means for the show’s future-past/past-future is anybody’s guess.
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