Steven Moffat Talks Doctor Who Series 8

The search is still underway for that lucky actor who will be cast as the 12th iteration of the Doctor on BBC’s Doctor Who. We’ve heard a ton of rumors and speculation but so far, we don’t have anything official and likely won’t for some time. What we do have though is an update from showrunner Steven Moffat, who has opened up a bit about the future of the hit series.

Speaking to EW, Moffat wouldn’t reveal who he has his eye on, but he did talk a bit about the casting process and how they are going about it.

“Well, it’s always just terrifying. If you’re a Doctor Who fan, as I have been all my life, you’ve been doing fantasy casting for this part for as long as you can remember. But when you’re suddenly faced with the reality that you are going to sit there and you are going to make that decision it does feel absolutely chilling. There’s a very big range of people who could play it and different ways you could go with it. We must get this right. One false move and the show’s over.

Unless we have an insane plan, we’ll announce a new Doctor within days of finalizing the new Doctor. Because it’s very very hard to keep any kind of a secret. The last time, when we chose Matt, we had to hold over on that one, because there was a Christmas Doctor Who special called “The Next Doctor” for which Russell (T. Davies, former Doctor Who showrunner) was playing the game of pretending it was going to be David Morrissey. So we couldn’t deflate that. [Laughs]. But I think we’ll go public pretty fast.”

Despite what Moffat is saying, we know that Matt Smith had always planned to leave after the Christmas special, right from the start that was the plan. It’s not like this was a huge surprise for Moffat. I’m sure he’s been looking for a replacement for a while now and he undoubtedly has a plan for how to continue the show without Smith. He’s had more than enough advanced notice and has likely been preparing for this for some time.

Still, finding a new Doctor is definitely a tough task and having to choose someone who will please those rabid Doctor Who fans has got to be a bit daunting. Hopefully, it won’t be long now before we hear who Moffat and co. have settled on. Until then though, feel free to keep speculating.