The Big Picture
- Doctor Who ‘s TARDIS team lands at Comic-Con, dropping plenty of news about Season 2 and the upcoming spin-off The War Between The Land and The Sea .
- Millie Gibson’s Ruby Sunday will return in Season 2 with a new character played by Jonah Hauer-King in tow.
- Gibson and Ncuti Gatwa, along with showrunner Russell T. Davies promise lots of surprises in store for fans.
From space babies to the Pantheon of Gods, Doctor Who‘s new TARDIS team has seen some of the wildest corners of the universe, and this weekend they’ve landed at San Diego Comic-Con for the first time. Following their packed Hall H panel stars Ncuti Gatwa and Millie Gibson, along with showrunner Russell T. Davies stopped by the Collider Studio for a quick chat about all of the wonderful announcements they shared with fans at SDCC. With one more episode left to air this year, Doctor Who has entered a new and exciting era that I just can’t get enough of.
During our conversation at SDCC we spoke about what to expect from this year’s Christmas special, Season 2’s surprises including new details about Jonah Hauer-King and Varada Sethu‘s roles. Davies also shared some exciting news about the upcoming spin-off The War Between the Land and the Sea. After a long day of news and interviews we also had some fun chatting about potential drag queen guest stars in Doctor Who, what music is playing on their TARDIS jukebox right now, and which characters they’d dress up as fans at Comic-Con. You can watch our conversation in the player above or check out the full transcript below.
COLLIDER: Ncuti, Millie, congratulations on your first packed Hall H panel. You did amazing this morning. Speaking of the Hall H panel, you guys dropped some awesome news. That sea devil spin-off sounds fantastic. With shooting starting next month, can we expect it between maybe Seasons 2 and 3?
RUSSELL T. DAVIES: Oh, we’re not saying anything! We’re not giving that away. That will appear when it appears, but there’s more news to come about that. There’s more cast to come, and I’m sure some of the filming will be in the papers and stuff like that. So, keep watching. It’s gonna be wonderful.
Excellent. I also loved that little glimpse of the Christmas Special that we got. How is the Doctor doing after saying goodbye to Ruby?
NCUTI GATWA: When we find him, he’s sad. He’s bored and he’s looking for an adventure. He’s lost his best pal!
DAVIES: That’s what it’s about in many ways, isn’t it? That he’s missing her.
And Nicola [Coughlan] seems wonderful. I think she’s gonna maybe be exactly what the Doctor needs right now?
GATWA: She teaches him a lot. [Laughs] What can I say?! They go on a beautiful journey together where they learn about themselves, and they find themselves. Exactly what the Doctor needs.
That is great to hear. You mentioned a couple of dream guest stars during the panel. Is there any chance we’ll get to see 15 meet his wife? You mentioned Alex Kingston at some point.
DAVIES: [Laughs] No, there is no Alex Kingston, I’m afraid.
That’s fair.
DAVIES: We can just be honest. We didn’t say that! Someone in the crowd shouted Alex Kingston. Actually, many people in the world shout Alex Kingston because she’s so marvelous. She’s lovely. But no. [Laughs] No. We’ve got Ruby Sunday coming back!
Speaking of, Ruby’s coming back. Can you tell us anything about what we can expect from Season 2 with Ruby?
MILLIE GIBSON: Yes! It’s the rare case where you see the companion after the Doctor. It’s never been explored before, and I think it’s such a beautiful and clever thing to do. Can you imagine traveling the world with the Doctor and then seeing how they cope with it after when your life just goes back to normal? It was the weirdest feeling. But yeah, I’m joined by the beautiful Jonah Hauer-King on her journey. He’s a very, very interesting character, and he makes the show even more magical. So, I’m very excited to see what he’s like.
Will There Be More Drag Queens on ‘Doctor Who’?
I can’t wait. We’ve spoken a bit about how amazing it was to have Jinkx [Monsoon] on last season. If you guys could pick another drag queen to come in…?
GIBSON: Trixie Mattel. She would be hilarious.
GATWA: Baga Chipz.
GIBSON: Baga Chipz!
DAVIES: Tia Kofi would kill us. Tia’s a Doctor Who fan.
GIBSON: She was at the London premiere!
I would love to see Lawrence Cheney myself.
GIBSON: Yes! Bimini Bon Bhoulash. So good!
DAVIES: We’ll have to have them all.
GIBSON: Let’s just have an episode.
With “Boom,” we saw you guys acting with Varada [Sethu], and I’m so excited she’s joining the tradition of playing another character when she comes back. It sounds so exciting. Can you tease anything about the dynamic between the three of you?
GIBSON: The more the merrier.
GATWA: And an even stronger team.
Excellent. Now that the whole season is out, can you pinpoint any specific moments that you’re most proud of in this wonderful first season? You guys did such an amazing job.
GATWA: We poured our hearts and souls into it.
GIBSON: It was a really nostalgic experience to watch back because it was nine months in the making, and we learned and grew so much. Yeah, we poured our hearts and souls into that, and it was a lot of hard work. So many people’s hard work went into that. But for me, 73 hours I was very, very proud of.
And you did such an amazing job with that.
GIBSON: That means a lot. Thank you.
The Doctor Listens to Frank Ocean on the TARDIS Jukebox
You mentioned some music in the next season. I’m not gonna ask you to say anything about the music, but what’s playing on each of your TARDIS jukeboxes right now?
GIBSON: Sabrina Carpenter has been on my playlist. She’s the girl of the summer. Stevie Nicks, Fleetwood Mac.
A classic.
GATWA: I’d say right now, the Doctor’s listening to a lot of Frank Ocean because he’s just lost Ruby.
GIBSON: He’s in his mourning era.
GATWA: He’s just listening to “Godspeed” by Frank Ocean.
That’s the perfect song.
DAVIES: I tend to listen to soundtracks when I’m writing, and at the moment it’s a little Salt, starring Angelina Jolie. It’s quite old, it’s about 10 years old. It’s a soundtrack by James Newton Howard, and it’s such a great thriller. So, I’ve got that all day in my head. It’s great to write thrillers when you’re listening to them. So, I’ve got that. You can’t sing along to it, really. [Laughs]
You all look amazing today. Is there anything from your own wardrobe that you would want to add to the Doctor and Ruby’s style?
GIBSON: That’s such a good question. Sunnies. Look at us in our sunnies. We need sunglasses in that show. The amount of scenes I’m squinting in! Get us some sunnies! Yeah, I’d say my sunglasses.
GATWA: I don’t know. I think the Doctor’s got much better style than me. No, I don’t think you can add on the Doctor’s wardrobe. Are you kidding? A crop top. [Laughs]
GIBSON: Less clothing. He wants to take away.
It’s so many layers. Now, just to celebrate your first Comic-Con, if you were to roam around Comic-Con dressed up as another character, it doesn’t have to be from Doctor Who, who would you roam around Comic-Con as?
GATWA: Black Panther.
Wonderful choice.
GIBSON: Good choice. Some superwoman of some sort—Wonder Woman! Get me in that suit.
DAVIES: I’d be C-3PO!
The latest season of Doctor Who is available to stream on Disney+. You can watch previous seasons on Max in the U.S. Stay tuned at Collider for more exciting interviews from SDCC 2024.
