David Tennant: star of a Doctor Whovie?Speaking at the Edinburgh TV Festival, Doctor Who's new showrunner Steven Moffat revealed his thoughts on a possible big-screen version of the hit show:
"As long as it was great and fantastic then yeah. But a film is on [for] 90 minutes and that is not as important as the series. But as long as it doesn't get in the way of the show we could do it."
Moffat also revealed that Steven Spielberg (who hired him to write three Tintin films), was very gracious in allowing him to leave the project for Who, having only written the first film. Spielberg apparently told Moffat:
"The world would be a poorer place without Doctor Who."
He also had a word for anyone who posted massive spoilers on the internet:
"Shut up, just shut up. It is easy to find out what's going on with the show. We virtually publish the scripts and we film in public. But in giving things away you become that bore in the pub who delivers the punchline of a joke a second before it is delivered."
Interestingly, he also addressed the idea of a casting a much older actor as The Doctor:
"The show is really tough for a super-fit David Tennant, so you might kill somebody who takes on the role in their 60s. For Doctor Who to turn into an old man you'd be pissed off. Even [original Doctor] William Hartnell had trouble back then. He was often ill and he forgot his lines. I think the Doctor will always be about 40."
I guess that ends speculation about 59-year-old Bill Nighy one day assuming the mantle. Well, unless Moffat's eventual successor thinks otherwise.
In the meantime, can you imagine how huge Doctor Who would be in the UK as a big-budget movie? Even if they pumped a relatively modest £13 million into the film (approximately the cost of a whole season), they'd definitely make that back from UK and European box-office alone, without having to worry about "cracking" America to make ends meet. I'm sure it's only a matter of time before Who hits the multiplex.
