Black Panther Actor Reportedly Eyed As Replacement For Jodie Whittaker On Doctor Who

2020 was a quiet year for Doctor Who. COVID-19 lockdowns meant season 13 was delayed, resulting in a year-long hiatus between the New Year’s Day specials. But now that “Revolution of the Daleks” has aired, we’re beginning to hear rumors about the show’s future. It’s being widely reported that Jodie Whittaker’s tenure on the series will end in 2021, meaning that, in line with every Doctor since David Tennant, she got three seasons to strut her stuff.

If she has a regeneration coming, then it’s certain that showrunner Chris Chibnall is in meetings with the BBC to discuss her replacement. These talks could be further along than we think, too, as anyone taking the role has to effectively clear their schedule for the next few years. Now, we’ve heard from our sources that Get Out, Widows and Black Panther star Daniel Kaluuya is one individual who’s currently under consideration for the job.

If this pans out, Kaluuya would become (almost) the first black Doctor, which would follow on nicely from the ground broken by Whittaker’s first woman Doctor. At 31, he’d be considered fairly young for the role, though would still be older than both Matt Smith and Peter Davison were when they began. In addition, he has a suspiciously clean schedule coming up, which is usually an indication that an actor has scored an as yet unknown big part.

One factor that may work against Kaluuya, though, is that he’s already appeared in Doctor Who. In 2009, he played Barclay in the episode “Planet of the Dead.” But this might not be a huge issue, as Twelfth Doctor Peter Capaldi portrayed Lobus Caecilius in the 2008 outing “The Fires of Pompeii” before he was cast in the lead.

If Kaluuya becomes the next Doctor, the show would be picking up a seriously talented lead. His performance in modern horror classic Get Out earned him a ton of awards, including an Oscar nomination for Best Actor and he impressed critics as the intimidating W’Kabi in Black Panther.

Do you think Daniel Kaluuya would be a good fit for Doctor Who, though? Let us know in the comments section below.