A few years ago, the future looked bright for Doctor Who. The BBC had partnered with Disney+, with the intention of bringing the series to a global audience on streaming. Disney's involvement also led to a significant—and much-needed—budget increase for the long-running sci-fi series.
Unfortunately, the partnership didn't work out. The 60th anniversary specials showed promise, but with returning showrunner Russell T Davies bringing a lot of heavy-handed messaging into the Whoniverse—while attempting to Marvelize the property—audiences were left feeling cold.
After 26 episodes of Doctor Who and a spin-off, The War Between the Land and the Sea (which still hasn't been released on Disney+), the show is stuck in limbo. A Christmas Special penned by Davies is in the works, but may be delayed or outright cancelled based on recent reports.
Adding further fuel to the fire is the fact that, when Radio Times (via SFFGazette.com) reached out to the BBC, the broadcaster "declined to comment."
If the Doctor Who Christmas Special was on track to begin production and release on December 25, we'd expect something a little more like a denial from the BBC following The Sun's bold claims.
While Davies ended Season 2 by having Ncuti Gatwa's Doctor regenerate into Billie Piper's Rose Tyler, many fans were surprised that he was returning for another episode. However, the prevailing theory was that he'd tie up loose ends from his run and leave Doctor Who in a place where it could be handed over to a new creative team.
Kate Phillips, chief content officer at the BBC, previously confirmed that, regardless of who is in charge, the BBC remains committed to Doctor Who.
"Any Whovians out there, rest assured – Doctor Who is going nowhere," she said last August. "Disney has been a great partnership... but, going forward, with or without Disney, Doctor Who will still be on the BBC."
Then, this past February, Zai Bennett, CEO and chief creative officer of BBC Studios Global Content, confirmed that work on a Christmas Special is underway.
"We’re a big important part of Doctor Who and are all motivated to make sure Doctor Who has a long and flourishing life," he reiterated. "We’ve got the Christmas special coming. After that, it’s time for us all to work on it."
Doctor Who's future is uncertain, and there's still no word on whether the BBC has managed to find a U.S. partner to work with on expanding its scope. Ratings have been steadily declining for a long time, so we may be looking at a scenario where the Time Lord is shelved and brought back to our screens a few years from now.
We'll keep you updated as more is revealed.