|

Before Disney became what could be an active financial investor in the long-running BBC series, showrunner Russell T Davies was sharing how he saw Doctor Who as a flagship series deserving of a shared universe of spinoff series. And Davies put his money where his mouth is during his first run, also offering the John Barrowman-starring Torchwood and The Sarah Jane Adventures, which starred the late Elisabeth Sladen.

Now that he’s begun his second run as showrunner and “The Mouse” looks to be injecting the series with funding levels it’s previously never had access to, Mirror Online is reporting from a source close to planning that Davies’ “Whoniverse” will include series focusing on some of The Doctor’s biggest “big bad” like the Daleks and the Cybermen. “Fans can expect to see Sontarans, Weeping Angels, and Sea Devils in separate series showing what they get up to when the Doctor isn’t there to stop them, along with Daleks and Cybermen,” conveyed the source. Other sources separate from the Mirror’s reporting also stress an emphasis on the show’s villains, but as part of an overall anthology series.

“I was in the middle of running an empire. And my god, I did that 10 years too soon, didn’t I?” Davies asked during an interview with Paul Kirkley for Waitrose Weekend in January 2021 when discussing how Marvel Studios would go on to turn the concept of a shared universe with multiple films & shows that crossover into the new “must-have” for any studio with a big franchise. “There should be a Doctor Who channel now. You look at those Disney announcements, of all those new Star Wars and Marvel shows… you think, we should be sitting here announcing ‘The Nyssa Adventures’ or ‘The Return of Donna Noble,’ and you should have the Tenth and Eleventh Doctors together in a 10-part series. Genuinely,” Davies explained. And along with the MCU, Davies also has another franchise in mind when it comes to his “the sky’s the limit” vision for his “Whoniverse” plan. “You laugh, but did Star Trek fans ever think they’d be getting a Captain Pike series? Ever? That’s insane. The whole science fiction world is so creative and so money-making right now, I think your wildest dreams can come true.”