Ncuti Gatwa, the incoming actor set to take over the lead role on Doctor Who, just released a handy little crash course for any new fans looking to get into the series. With tons of exciting developments on the horizon, this long-running staple of British television is in a prime position to bring in plenty of fresh viewers into its ranks, and what better way to welcome them than with a message from the new Doctor himself?
Now that Gatwa has been announced as the next Doctor, it's about time for Doctor Who to hit a sort of reset button and start establishing a new era. With each new regeneration comes new stories, new companions, and new fans. But suppose words like "The Doctor" and "regeneration" are proving to be a bit of an information overload. In that case, it's a good thing that Gatwa himself has a primer for newcomers to brush up on the ever-expanding lore of this wibbly-wobbly series. It all comes just in time for Doctor Who's upcoming debut on Disney Plus.
Courtesy of Disney Plus on Twitter, Gatwa is front and center in a new video meant to help ease anyone unfamiliar with Doctor Who into its long and storied lore. This is a lot of information that most fans will already know rather intimately, such as the nature of The Doctor's police box-shaped spaceship known as the TARDIS. But it can probably still help anyone who may have gotten a little rusty due to Doctor Who's rather characteristic penchant for taking long breaks between seasons.
"The Doctor is full of optimism and hope, with a fierce sense of right and wrong," Gatwa explains about the titular hero. "They are clever and courageous. The Doctor doesn't carry any weapons, just a sonic screwdriver for fixing things and getting out of tricky situations. They're full of adventure, running towards danger. But when they are fatally injured, they can regenerate. So a new body, a new face, but with a soul and a memory that carries generations of knowledge and experience." It's worth noting how he uses they/them pronouns for The Doctor here, further cementing the fact that this character is no longer tied to one gender as of Jodie Whittaker's run as the 13th Doctor Who.
After the quick info dump, Gatwa went on to get into his own personal feelings about taking up the role of The Doctor. "I am so excited," he said. "Obviously, it's daunting. It's an iconic role and show and I'm following in some very big footsteps. But I cannot wait to put my stamp on the character." As for what he might do if given control of his own TARDIS, he already had some ideas. "I would take my TARDIS to Africa," he mused, "I would take my TARDIS to Nigeria, and I would love for The Doctor to meet the Orisha. Which were a set of gods in Nigerian mythology." Clearly, Gatwa has been thinking about this for some time, and it's not like Doctor Who hasn't featured mythical creatures before, so Nigerian folklore would be an excellent addition to the show.
Gatwa's run is sure to offer some great new stories for the already richly established universe of Doctor Who. Granted, David Tennant's unexpected return to the role is up first, but that just means more fans will stick around, and the 15th Doctor deserves nothing less.
Doctor Who will begin airing on Disney Plus in 2023.
Source: Disney Plus/Twitter