Doctor Who Season 8 May Revive Classic Villain (Plus, Twelve Gets His Own Comic)

By David Wharton | Published

This article is more than 2 years old

WhoDoctor Who fans still have a couple of months until the show returns for a new season, but there’s a lot to look forward to. There’s a new Doctor, for one, a guy who is said to be very different from the two younger blokes who preceded him. (Okay, so he’s still a white British dude, but whatever.) Showrunner Steven Moffat has talked about how casting Peter Capaldi was a conscious effort to get away from the “handsome yet quirky young man with entertaining hair.” But while Capaldi’s take on the time lord could be a great shake-up for the venerable series, this new Doctor may be facing one of his oldest enemies before his first season is through.

Spoilers for Doctor Who season 8 below!

The Who rumor of the day originates in the Daily Star, so be sure to take your Doctor-recommended dose of salt along with it. They’re claiming that Moffat and company are planning to bring the Doctor’s nemesis, the Master, back for a huge season-ending cliffhanger. Moreover, the Star says they’re looking to cast “a Hollywood actor” for the role. That would presumably mean an American, which might raise a few eyebrows from long-time fans, but it’s not unprecedented: Eric Roberts played the Master in the 1996 Fox Doctor Who TV movie, opposite Eighth Doctor Paul McGann. Let’s just say McGann was by far the more impressive half of that pairing, so if we do get another American Master, there’s nowhere to go but up.

The Master has been riding the bench since “The End of Time,” the two-parter that wrapped up David Tennant’s run as the Tenth Doctor. We knew he’d be back — as with all things Doctor Who, it was just a matter of time. And he sat out the entirety of Matt Smith’s tenure, an entire regeneration cycle, so why not bring him back? Hopefully they’ll find somebody who can hold his own against Capaldi.

Meanwhile, Titan Comics has finally revealed some information about their upcoming series focusing on the Twelfth Doctor. Set to debut on October 1, it will join Titan’s ongoing series spinning new adventures for the Tenth and Eleventh Doctors, both of which begin in July. Writer Robbie Morrison (Drowntown, The Authority) and artist Dave Taylor (2000 AD, Batman: Death by Design) will be working on the series, with Alice X. Zhang doing the lovely painted cover you can see below. (She also did the painted covers for Titan’s other two new Who series.)

The Tenth and Eleventh Doctor‘s series will hit comic shelves on July 23.

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