EXTERMINATE! Stephen Moffat Blasts DOCTOR WHO Reboot Movie Rumors

Remember that announcement a couple weeks back that director David Yates (he of the last four HARRY POTTER films and a ton of British tele-movies you’ve probably never seen) would be spearheading a big-screen DOCTOR WHO reboot for the BBC? Well, it would seem Stephen Moffat, captain of current run of the WHO series and pretty much a big deal as far as the BBC is concerned, is having none of that sh*t.

Check out that Moffat had to say (I spotted this bit over at Topless Robot) about the situation over on Twitter:

Wow. Moffat is clearly irritated. What his irritation means is up to interpretation. One might argue that this is an early sign that he wants in on the movie and wants it be part of the current WHO continuity which is a good thing. Matter of fact, I’d love to see the movie be integrated into the series much like the first X-FILES movie was snuggled in between seasons four and five. And I’m pretty down with Moffat being on-board too. Dude has more than established that he knows the characters and how to handle them.

Unfortunately, I think this is probably Moffat blowing off steam and him possibly trying to rally the WHO fans against the big bad reboot. Dude probably was told by the BBC that the series was going to come to a true end after the 50th anniversary next year and that it was going to be handed off to a bunch of guys more interested in pleasing the masses than the fanboys. That had to sting.

And let’s be honest, a DOCTOR WHO movie with Matt Smith in the lead and set in the current continuity would never play outside of the UK. You know this and I know this. The idea of the big budget WHO is to make it palatable to everyone. As in, the entire world. As in, there’s no way that goofy Smith is going to play well with middle America.

You know who plays well in middle America? Johnny Depp and you know that the BBC has him in mind for this. Hell, I wouldn’t be shocked if the offer has already been made. You know some exec is drooling over a mock-up of Depp with the Tom Baker scarf and the David Tennant brainy specs at his desk at the BBC right now.

Now, I’m not crazy about a Hollywood-ized version of WHO and I see why Moffat is pissed …but I get why the BBC wants this to happen. They are business and WHO is their biggest cash cow. That means that they want to spread it across all mediums and that means that changes need to be made from format to format. Most people forget that back in the 60s Peter Cushing played The Doctor in two non-canon theatrical WHO films during the William Hartnell and Patrick Troughton run of the show. And if the BBC could do that back then, they’ll do it now.

Yeah, I’m sidetracking all over the place with this piece but I think what I’m trying to say is that this might be the tweet of an angry guy who knows his big gig is either going to be over in a couple of years or it’s going to be pushed to the back burner in favor of something new and more mainstream. I don’t blame Moffat for being pissed but I don’t really believe for a second that the BBC is going to give him the reigns to a WHO film over the guy responsible for one of the highest-grossing franchises of all-time. It won’t happen. Mark my words.

Just for a laugh, here's what happened the last time Hollywood got their hands on The Doctor:

[via Topless Robot]