Doctor Who is preparing for many exciting things in 2023 and beyond. While there's a lot of talk about the upcoming 60th anniversary and David Tennant's return as The Doctor, many are equally excited about Ncuti Gatwa taking over once Season 14 starts. This includes John Boyega, who recently name-checked the actor and signaled his interest in appearing in the series, with one specific request.
John Boyega spoke to Radio Times about the increase of diversity in the television and movie sectors. Boyega confirmed that diversity is improving from where it once was and pointed to Ncuti Gatwa's casting in Doctor Who as an example of that:
It is opening up. You get inspired by things like Ncuti Gatwa playing the Doctor in Doctor Who – that is special to me. The glass ceiling can’t limit us. It’s exciting to see what comes out of this new stage of film-making and entertainment.
Ncuti Gatwa will be the first Black male to portray The Doctor. Doctor Who continues to make strides in diversity with its lead role, having introduced Jodie Whittaker and Jo Martin as the first female Doctors of the franchise in recent years. The castings broke from tradition in a major way, as the show previously had historically only cast white male Doctors to that point.
John Boyega's praise of Ncuti Gatwa's casting led to the inevitable question of whether he'd be up for appearing on Doctor Who. Boyega, perhaps surprisingly, said that he was up for appearing, though he did have some requirements about how he'd like it to go down:
I would love that! But get me in an episode where I’m one of the many Doctors in many timelines so I can just cameo it. Or I’d be the assistant, whatever. I’d show up – but just for one episode.
John Boyega stated that he's up for appearing in Doctor Who, but he also made his availability clear. He's not trying to appear on the series as a recurring guest star or anything like that. This hypothetical scenario would be a one-off appearance, and then he'll go on with whatever he's doing afterward.
While I can't hide my disappointment that Boyega doesn't want to be on Doctor Who long-term, I'm still very much into the idea of him appearing in an episode. There are plenty of instances of actors who appeared in one episode of Doctor Who and had a memorable impact on the series. If you don't believe that, then I dare you to watch the Vincent Van Gogh episode without crying!
Hopefully, Russell T. Davies or someone else connected to the show has seen John Boyega's interest in appearing in Doctor Who and is already at work trying to figure out a way to make it work. After all, is there a better way to bring in newcomers with a Disney+ subscription when the series premieres in the United States than by having a Star Wars star involved?
If it doesn't work out, there's still plenty of reason to be excited about what's on the horizon for Doctor Who. Neil Patrick Harris will play a villain in the 60th anniversary special, and Catherine Tate is on her way back to the franchise as well. We also have an exciting new companion on the way via actress Millie Gibson. Plus, there's already a new spinoff on the way centered around UNIT, so if John Boyega is too busy in the near future, it's no big deal.
New episodes of Doctor Who are coming to Disney+ later this fall, but you'll need an HBO Max subscription to catch up on the episodes that precede it. I would highly recommend catching up on Whittaker's run for those who might've tuned out years ago, as it might come into play in the upcoming 60th anniversary.
