Filming wrapped this week on Doctor Who Season 12, bringing the new run that bit closer. What can fans expect? “It’s big, the first episode,” says Jodie Whittaker.
“It’s big,” agrees Chris Chibnall. On a September visit to the Cardiff set of Doctor Who, the showrunner tells assembled press that the Season 12 opener is “the biggest episode [they’ve] done. It might be the biggest episode the show’s done.” Fighting talk.
The casting is certainly big. Sir Lenny Henry and Stephen Fry – two of the most recognizable faces on UK television – are guest starring. Though whether those recognizable faces will be obscured by costumes or prosthetics, and whether they’re playing friend or foe, is yet to be confirmed.
Size aside (odds are we’re looking at a two-parter), what can fans expect from the Doctor’s return? “A lot of action, a lot of fun,” says Chibnall, describing the story as “a big action-packed hoot,” adding “if you think “Resolution [End]”’s big, Episode 1 is bigger – unquestionably.”
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Back with the bigness. Anything else?
“That was the thing that was fun for us, because we’ve done our Season 1/11 and we’ve gotten to where we basically are,” says Whittaker “… and then you finish, and then to go into our Episode 1 being very action-packed. It was nice, like, oh! There you go! It was very immediately high energy.”
Bradley Walsh, who plays one of the Doctor’s TARDIS-travelling Companions, calls the episode “fantastic,” while in true Thirteenth Doctor style, Whittaker calls it “brilliant.”
“Maybe that’s the hallmark of what we’ve done this year,” concludes Chibnall. “We come in with episode one at such a kind of velocity of opening – we’re back, and we’re having a blast, and I think we’re just trying to push Doctor Who as far as it can go really.”
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