Peter Jackson Met With Steven Moffat About Directing Doctor Who
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Last month geek worlds collided in a potentially awesome way when The Hobbit director Peter Jackson joked that he would direct an episode of Doctor Who for free. Okay, that’s not quite true. He just wants one of the Daleks as his payment, which sounds totally reasonable to us. While it’s still a long way from a done deal, it seems some powerful forces are in favor of a Jackson-directed Who: namely, the Sixth, Seventh, and Eighth Doctors themselves!
As reported by Stuff.co.nz, former Who leads Colin Baker, Sylvester McCoy and Paul McGann were excited at the prospect, and say that Jackson has already met with showrunner Steven Moffat. The three actors were visiting New Zealand for the Lords of Time convention, and all seemed keen on the idea of letting the Hobbit master play around inside the TARDIS. “I could only think he would make an epic Doctor Who story,” says Baker. “I would like to be cast, not as the Doctor, even if it’s inside a furry suit. Maybe I could be a villain.”
McCoy has worked with Jackson recently, appearing as the wizard Radaghast the Brown in The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey. “He knows what he’s doing,” says McCoy. “If he was in charge of the budget he’d most likely want to film it on the moon and has the ability to do it. If he was using the resources of Weta they would make some amazing magic.”
As for McGann, he says he would expect Jackson to craft a “classic” episode: “”I think he would be above trying to make anything trendy. The story would be strong. He would be ideal to make it he’s above the kind of pressure, who could lean on him. He would make the best thing we have seen.”
We’ll have to wait and see whether anything comes of the meeting between Jackson and Moffat, but it’s certainly an exciting possibility. It also raises the question of whether a Jackson-directed Doctor Who episode would be filmed in Jackson’s native New Zealand, or back in its usual U.K. stomping grounds. Stay tuned!
