Ahead of her proper on-screen debut later this year, the Thirteenth Doctor herself, Jodie Whittaker is set to make her first Comic-Con appearance at next month’s much-anticipated event, taking place from July 19-22. BBC America will be hosting a Doctor Who panel at the convention to promote the upcoming season 11, which will offer a brand new start for the beloved sci-fi series.
Doctor Who has been a fixture at San Diego Comic-Con for the last few years, with former Doctor Peter Capaldi and ex-showrunner Steven Moffat often in attendance. This year, Whittaker will step into Capaldi’s shoes, much like she did in Doctor Who itself last Christmas, and will be joined by incoming showrunner Chris Chibnall. In addition, her two companions, Tosin Bell and Mandip Cole, who will play Ryan and Yasmin, respectively, will be there as well, as will exec producer Matt Strevens.
It’s not confirmed as yet, but it’s likely that the Doctor Who panel will take place in Hall H, where all the biggest events of the weekend are held. Not only that, but according to Deadline, those who are lucky enough to attend the panel will be treated to “a sneak peek or two” at season 11. In past years, the BBC has usually been good to fans and released their SDCC trailers online as well, so let’s hope they do so again this time and don’t keep those of us who couldn’t be there in suspense.
From what we know so far, season 11 is set to consist of 10 episodes and after kicking off with an hour-long special, the remainder of the episodes will come in at 50 minutes (5 minutes longer than the standard length that we’ve seen since 2005). No doubt Doctor Who‘s SDCC panel will also confirm when exactly we can expect the TARDIS to materialize on TV again. Right now, we only know that the show will return in either September or October, but expect a firm date to be with us next month once Comic-Con gets underway.
