Ncuti Gatwa, Russell T. Davies, and Millie Gibson shared a sneak peak at Doctor Who’s 2024 Christmas special episode during their Hall H panel at San Diego Comic-Con on Friday.
The episode, titled “Joy to the World,” was written by Doctor Who veteran and former showrunner Steven Moffat. It will be Moffat’s 50th episode of Doctor Who, following “Boom,” his tense entry in the series’ 14th season. Moffat told TV Choice it might be his last Doctor Who episode, although he’s said that before. (And he tacitly acknowledged that in the interview: “What I feel slightly sad about is, even if I do another one, I probably won’t know when I’ve done my last one.”)
“Joy to the World” guest stars Bridgerton’s Nicola Coughlan as Joy, alongside Gatwa’s Fifteenth Doctor, and is expected to air on Disney Plus on Christmas Day 2024. The panel included a brief glimpse at Coughlan and the Christmas special:
Showrunner Russell T. Davies was a little more tight-lipped about Doctor Who’s full 15th season, due in 2025, even though production on the season has already wrapped. We know that Gatwa, who has played the Doctor since 2023, will be joined in the TARDIS by a new Companion, played by Andor’s Varada Sethu. That doesn’t mean Gibson as Ruby Sunday is out of the picture, though; she’s still in the show, and Davies promises she’ll play an integral part in the storyline.
“We see The Doctor and Ruby in a new light, and with a new friend,” Davies told Comic-Con regarding Sethu. “Like you’re saying, different friends bring out different aspects of you.”
Beyond that, Davies, Gatwa, and Gibson would only say that the upcoming season provided plenty of their favorite moments. “[It] felt like a chance to flex the muscles properly,” Gatwa said. “So exciting. You’re fueled by the writing and by each new story, each new monster, each new addition into our world. There’s many in [the next season]. It’s just the fun of the show. I think that just drives you growing into the character.”
Davies did have something else entirely to tease: a five-part spin-off series, starring Gugu Mbatha-Raw (Loki), Russell Tovey, Alexander Devrient, and Jemma Redgrave — all, Davies stresses, playing new characters to the Whoniverse. The show, titled Doctor Who: The War Between the Land and the Sea, will start shooting in August. Its title comes from its central conflict: The sea devils, creatures from the 1972 iteration of the show, who inhabit Earth’s oceans, wake up and start to wage war after seeing the state of the planet’s waterways.
Neither that nor the next season of Doctor Who have release dates yet, but Davies has hinted that The War Between the Land and the Sea will premiere in May 2025, just a year after the debut of Gatwa’s first full season as the Doctor on Disney Plus.
You can find all of Polygon’s coverage of SDCC 2024 news, trailers, and more here.