Doctor Who Announces New Spin-Off Series and Christmas Special at SDCC 2024
Ncuti Gatwa, Russell T. Davies and Millie Gibson previewed Doctor Who is Special Christmas episode from 2024 during their Hall H panel on San Diego Comic-Con on Friday.
The episode, titled “Joy to the World,” was written by Doctor who veteran and former showrunner Steven Moffat. It will be Moffat’s 50th episode of Doctor whoafter “Boom”, his exciting entry in the 14th season of the series. Moffat told TV Choice It could be his last Doctor Who episode, though he’s said as much before. (And he quietly admitted as much in the interview: “What I’m a little bit sad about is that even if I do another one, I probably won’t know when I’ve done my last one.”)
“Joy to the World” guest stars Bridgerton’s Nicola Coughlan as Joy, alongside Gatwa’s Fifteenth Doctor, and is expected to air on Disney Plus on Christmas Day 2024. The panel gave a brief look at Coughlan and the holiday special:
Showrunner Russell T. Davies was a little more reserved about Doctor who‘s full 15th season, which will be released in 2025, although production on the season has already wrapped. We know that Gatwa, who has played the Doctor since 2023, will be joined in the TARDIS by a new Companion, played by Andor‘s Varada Sethu. That doesn’t mean Gibson is out of the picture as Ruby Sunday, but she is still in the show and Davies promises she will play an integral part in the storyline.
“We’re seeing The Doctor and Ruby in a new light, and with a new friend,” Davies told Comic-Con of Sethu. “As you say, different friends bring out different aspects of you.”
Davies, Gatwa and Gibson would only say that the upcoming season offered many of their favorite moments. “(It) felt like a chance to really flex your muscles,” Gatwa said. “So exciting. You’re fed by the writing and by every new story, every new monster, every new addition to our world. There’s a lot of that in (the next season). It’s just the fun of the show. I think that just makes you grow into the character.”
Davies had something else entirely to announce: a five-part spin-off series starring Gugu Mbatha-Raw (Loki), Russell Tovey, Alexander Devrient and Jemma Redgrave — all, Davies points out, are playing new characters to the Whoniverse. The show, titled Doctor Who: The War Between Land and Seabegins filming in August. The title is derived from the central conflict: The sea devils, creatures from the 1972 series that inhabit Earth’s oceans, awaken and begin waging war after seeing the state of the planet’s waterways.
Neither that nor the next season of Doctor who don’t have a release date yet, but Davies has suggested That The war between land and sea will premiere in May 2025, just a year after Gatwa’s first full season as the Doctor premiered on Disney Plus.
Here you’ll find all of Polygon’s SDCC 2024 coverage, including news, trailers, and more.