Matt Smith Reveals The Franchise He’d Love To Return To, And It Isn’t Marvel
What would he choose?
Doing promotion for this week’s Morbius, Matt Smith was asked which franchise he’d rather return to — come back for a second Morbius, or return to his role as the Eleventh Doctor on Doctor Who. While it may not come as a surprise, the Whovians of the world will be happy to hear that, given the hypothetical, Smith did not choose a Marvel return. Instead, he said he’d rather reprise the role of the iconic Doctor.
Matt Smith was talking to It’s Gone Viral as part of the lead-up to Morbius when he said he would choose a Doctor Who return over Morbius 2. Once asked, Smith didn’t take long before answering, “Doctor Who.” The actor was quick to point out he wasn’t meaning to diss his new movie. “[The Doctor is] the best part in the world,” Smith Said. “That isn’t to say I wouldn’t love to be in a Morbius sequel with Jared [Leto], because I would, but you know, the Doctor’s the Doctor — unbeatable.” You can see the clip below.
It was actually the actor’s history with Doctor Who that helped him get the part as the eponymous character’s surrogate brother in Morbius, and not just in terms of exposure. Speaking to Digital Spy earlier this week, Matt Smith said when he was offered the role of Milo Morbius, he checked in with his former Doctor Who castmate, Karen Gillan. “I phoned Karen and said, ‘What’s it like? Have you had a nice time?’ and she’s like, ‘Yeah, go for it, do it’. So I did. Good old Kaz. I mean, she’s a seasoned pro, she’s made about 9 of them.” If you count the upcoming Thor: Love and Thunder and Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, she’s actually made six, but we get the point.
Whether or not it’s in the cards for Matt Smith to be asked back as the Doctor, the hypothetical may be a useless exercise if the critics have their way. The first reviews for Morbius came in on Thursday and they are not good. Critics call the film poorly paced, dull, and perfunctory,. They say Leto’s performance is one of his least impressive. Morbius was slapped with a 17% rating on Rotten Tomatoes on Thursday and it’s since dropped to 15%. The audience score of 64% is better but still not great. If ticket sales reflect the critics, there will almost certainly never be a Morbius 2.
As far as Matt Smith wanting to return to Doctor Who, apparently he isn’t the only one from his time in the TARDIS who would be willing to go back. His co-star Karen Gillan recently said she would also love to return to Doctor Who but with the important caveat that she would want to do it with Smith and Arthur Darvill on board as well.
In the meantime, all of this is happening while there is a genuinely huge question mark over the subject of Doctor Who. Jodie Whittaker will soon be leaving the role and speculation is buzzing about who will become the Fourteenth Doctor. It seems likely it won’t be Matt Smith, though he could still return as his own version of the Time Lord. Recent rumors suggested Hugh Grant was being tapped for the role, though he’s apparently denied the casting.
