Who’s Next? Doctor Who’s Peter Capaldi to retire after this season

Doctor Who fans around the world were shocked Monday night when Peter Capaldi announced his plans to leave the long-running science fiction show. Capaldi told BBC Radio’s Jo Whiley that this season will be his last as the time-travelling Time Lord from Gallifrey. 

A Good Time For A New Time Lord

It seems that Capaldi has mined everything he can creatively from the role, telling Whiley that this was the right time to go after “new challenges”. The Scottish-born Capaldi is a BAFTA and Academy Award winning film, television, and stage actor. The demands of being the Doctor may have left him little time for other acting opportunities. Besides appearing in each season’s episodes, Capaldi is also expected to appear at Comic-Con and Doctor Who conventions to promote the show. 

But there may be a reason besides professional growth. Long-time producer Steven Moffat had already announced his departure after the 2017 season. Capaldi may have felt that this was the right time to leave as it lets incoming producer Chris Chibnall place his own stamp on the show from the beginning. 

The Doctor’s companion will provide continuity in the casting. Jenna Colman left the show at the end of the last season. Bill Potts, played by Pearl Mackie, will replace Clara Oswald as the Doctor’s companion in this year’s episodes. We can expect her role to continue into the next season as the new Doctor settles into his new body and personality. 

But Who Will The New Doctor Be?

To the good fortune of the TV show’s producers, the Doctor extends his life by periodically “regenerating” into a new body. Capaldi replaced actor Matt Smith in 2013 to become the twelfth Doctor in the show’s fifty-four year history. Now the world awaits the Doctor’s thirteenth incarnation. 

Capaldi’s selection as the Doctor did not come without some controversy. A groundswell had built to end the traditional choice of a white man in the role. Many advocated bringing ethnic diversity to the role by choosing an actor such as Chiwetel Ejiofor (Serenity, 12 Years A Slave) or Idris Elba (Luther, Star Trek Beyond). Their names, as well as Richard Ayoade (The IT Crowd, The Boxtrolls) and David Harewood (Supergirl, Homeland), are on the list for the next Doctor. 

Others advocated ending male dominance by naming a woman to the role - former companion Billie Piper’s name often came up. The series producers have set a precedent for a female Doctor. The 2014 series saw the return of the Doctor’s long-time nemesis, the Master. Formerly played by actors like Derek Jacobi, this time the Master was the Mistress, or Missy, and played by award-winning actress Michelle Gomez. Agent Carter’s Hayley Atwell and Harry Potter’s Emma Watson are some of the female actors with sci-fi/fantasy experience in the rumor mill. 

Those looking for a Millennial actor, however, may need to wait another regeneration. Peter Capaldi’s was a rare instance of the Doctor aging across incarnations. This gives the show’s producers flexibility to pick actors in their thirties, forties, or even fifties. 

One thing that is not in doubt: speculation will rage across the Internet. Three months passed between Matt Smith’s retirement and Peter Capaldi’s selection. Will we have to wait even longer to learn the identity of the new Doctor?