Earlier this week, the BBC revealed that Jodie Whittaker’s Thirteenth Doctor would be facing off against at least one more returning monster in the upcoming twelfth season of Doctor Who. Last year’s season 11 was completely devoid of any classic foes, so fans were overjoyed when a lone Dalek appeared to cause havoc in the New Year’s special “Resolution.” And now, we know that the pepperpot’s return will be followed by an Earthly invasion of the Judoon in the 2020 run.
The rhino-headed Judoon, created back in 2007 by then-showrunner Russell T. Davies to battle David Tennant’s Doctor, have been revealed in these official promo images for season 12. The two pics capture a moment when the Time Lord is facing off against the Judoon captain. In contrast to previous ones we’ve seen, this one’s sporting a fetching mohawk, meaning he must go to the same hairdresser as Hawkeye in Avengers: Endgame.
The Judoon first appeared in “Smith and Jones,” which explained that they weren’t the same as most of the Doctor’s world-conquering enemies. The species are actually the interplanetary space force of the galaxy, but their thuggish methods often put them at odds with the time traveller’s way of working. This was their only appearance as primary antagonists, but they’ve turned up in cameo roles in many episodes since. Most recently, in 2015.
The press release for their season 12 appearance revealed that the Judoon will be storming the streets of present-day England. This is intriguing, as previous episodes established that they had no jurisdiction on Earth. In “Smith and Jones,” they used a “h20 scoop” to teleport a London hospital to the moon so they could apprehend the alien Plasmavore who’d infiltrated it. Perhaps Captain Mohawk is a rogue element who’s decided to break the rules for some reason?
In any case, we’ll find out soon enough, as Doctor Who season 12 is filming now and will arrive in very early 2020.