Change is afoot in the Whoniverse. When Doctor Who returns for another special this fall, it’ll see Jodie Whittaker exit the series after serving as the Thirteenth Doctor since 2017. As revealed this past spring, Ncuti Gatwa has been cast as her replacement, with the Sex Education star set to take over the controls of the TARDIS in 2023, which marks the legendary series’ 60th anniversary.
Threatening to upstage Gatwa’s debut, however, is the news that David Tennant is returning next year as well, with the beloved Tenth Doctor actor expected to feature in a trilogy of specials which will release to celebrate Who turning the big 6-0. With much of the filming from these specials taking place on the streets of London and Cardiff, we already know a certain amount to expect from these episodes.
For one thing, it looks like we can expect Tennant to serve as the main Doctor for the specials. While the Scottish star has been busy at work on the show for the past few months, Gatwa is currently shooting Sex Education season four and isn’t expected to get to grips with the role until later this year. So we’re left with the question: who exactly is the next Doctor?
Who will Jodie Whittaker regenerate into?
We all know how it works. At the end of the outgoing Doctor’s final episode, they give one last moving line or speech that reduces fans to emotional wrecks and then they erupt into a blast of CGI energy before the new Doctor stands in their place. So, at the end of Whittaker’s incoming finale, most people are expecting Thirteen to regenerate into Gatwa. Cue Doctor Who theme. Job done. Roll on 2023.
But what if that’s not what happens? Back in January, Whittaker opened up about her “emotional” last day on set, revealing in the process that her replacement did not shoot their first scenes at the same time. While not all that unusual a process — Tennant filmed his half of the Christopher Eccleston regeneration later on, for example — this does leave the door open for a surprise twist to come.
Speaking of Tennant, it is entirely possible, then, that the Good Omens icon might not be returning as the Tenth Doctor for the 2023 specials but could actually be playing the Fourteenth Doctor himself. A widely circulating fan theory has it that Whittaker may regenerate back into Tennant’s form at the end of her tenure instead of Gatwa. But how would that work?
Could Tennant be our (short-lived) next Doctor?
Let’s say that Whittaker does regenerate into Tennant in her upcoming finale, how does that make any sense? Well, 50th anniversary special “The Day of the Doctor” revealed that the Doctor would start nostalgically revisiting their old faces at some point, with Tom Baker cameoing as future Doctor the Curator. Similarly, Peter Capaldi’s Twelfth Doctor “borrowed” his face from Pompeii citizen Caecillius (also played by Capaldi), so we know the Doctor has some control over their new body.
So it is entirely feasible within Whoniverse lore for Tennant to be our next Doctor. The question is: why isn’t he our Doctor full-time? Well, it’s possible that this new Time Lord wearing an old face will lose their life again pretty much immediately at the end of the 2023 specials. Neil Patrick Harris is due to feature as the episodes’ main villain, a mysterious foe described as “the greatest threat the Doctor has ever faced.” Well, killing a Doctor after just three episodes would warrant such a bold claim.
On the other hand, Harris has confirmed that he’s already worked with Gatwa, with Tennant hinting the same, so it’s entirely possible that there’s something else going on here and Tennant is back as Ten. You have to admit, though, that bringing arguably the most beloved modern version of the character back in such a a high-concept twist would be be the perfect way to mark the show’s 60th birthday.
So who will Jodie Whittaker regenerate into? It’s too early to say for sure at this juncture, but the odds are high that we might be seeing Tennant’s face, not Gatwa’s, emerge from those CGI flames at the end of the next special.
Doctor Who returns to our screens sometime this fall as part of the BBC’s centenary celebrations.