According to the BBC (British Broadcasting Corporation), Matt Smith will be leaving his role as the Doctor after this year’s Christmas Special. The Doctor will die and regenerate at the end of the yearly Christmas Special.
Matt has made a huge impact on this series. I didn’t think anyone could replace David Tennant after he left the show but Matt has come in and won me over. I admit that I was skeptical at first but that passed very quickly as Matt rapidly found his groove as the Doctor. I still love the 10th Doctor over the 11th but it is more of a 1A and 1B sort of thing. After all, Matt has made Bow Ties, Fezzes, and cowboy hats KOOL.
The Christmas special will occur about a month after the 50th Anniversary special, which will cross over at least two Doctors (Smith and Tennant) and possibly more. The 50th Anniversary is highly anticipated by fans and cast members alike. Every 10 years the show creators celebrate this series uniqueness and crossover multiple Doctors to save the day together.
There is a ton of speculation and rumors about who will take over the role of the Doctor. Fans of the series know that when the Doctor dies, he can (and usually does) regenerate into a new incarnation of the Doctor. These various incarnations look different and usually have different quirks but are still the same person with the same desire to help. But as most fans realize, a Time Lord (The Doctor’s race of Alien with two hearts) may only regenerate 11 times (a total of 12 Doctors- or any Time Lords). Could this be resolved or fixed in the 50th Anniversary Special just in time for a new Doctor to show up a month later? Or will this be the driving force behind the New Doctor (who-ever they may be)?
There is a rumor that Zach Efron will become the new Doctor. There appears to be no validity to this unsubstantiated rumor. This was probably put in place to antagonize fans of the series. From the responses online to this rumor, it seems to have worked perfectly. After all, no-one wants a Doctor stuck in high school and singing all the time.
Below is an excerpt from the BBC Article: “Matt Smith announces he is to leave Doctor Who – UPDATED” where Matt announces his departure.
Doctor Who has been the most brilliant experience for me as an actor and a bloke, and that largely is down to the cast, crew and fans of the show. I’m incredibly grateful to all the cast and crew who work tirelessly every day, to realise all the elements of the show and deliver Doctor Who to the audience. Many of them have become good friends and I’m incredibly proud of what we have achieved over the last four years.
Having Steven Moffat as show runner write such varied, funny, mind bending and brilliant scripts has been one of the greatest and most rewarding challenges of my career. It’s been a privilege and a treat to work with Steven, he’s a good friend and will continue to shape a brilliant world for the Doctor.
The fans of Doctor Who around the world are unlike any other; they dress up, shout louder, know more about the history of the show (and speculate more about the future of the show) in a way that I’ve never seen before, your dedication is truly remarkable. Thank you so very much for supporting my incarnation of the Time Lord, number Eleven, who I might add is not done yet, I’m back for the 50th anniversary and the Christmas special!
It’s been an honour to play this part, to follow the legacy of brilliant actors, and helm the TARDIS for a spell with ‘the ginger, the nose and the impossible one’. But when ya gotta go, ya gotta go and Trenzalore calls. Thank you guys. Matt.” (BBC)
