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Nature abhors a vacuum, and the same can be said for internet speculation. Ahead of the final episode of the current season of Doctor Who, the lack of information about the show’s future has set off a firestorm of speculation, ‘leaks,’ and outright panic amongst the show’s fandom about whether or not there even is a future for Doctor Who.

At the heart of it all are media reports that series lead Ncuti Gatwa has been fired from the series due to the show’s falling ratings, something that the BBC has denied in a carefully worded statement: “Whilst we never comment on the future of the Doctor, any suggestion that Ncuti Gatwa has been 'axed' is pure fiction." The first part of that denial made fans nervous — “whilst we never comment on the future of the Doctor”? — coming, as it did, after an earlier statement from the BBC that suggested that the show was not necessarily coming back anytime soon after this season: “As we have previously stated, the decision on season 3 will be made after season 2 airs and any other claims are just pure speculation,” the BBC told the Sun newspaper. “The deal with Disney Plus was for 26 episodes – and we still have an entire spin-off, The War Between the Land and the Sea, to air. And as for the rest, we never comment on the Doctor and future storylines.”

Adding to speculation that the show might go on hiatus is a comment made by showrunner Russell T. Davies in an April interview promoting the current season, when he said, “I kind of know that the Doctor’s reached the status of, like, Robin Hood. Sometimes there might be a pause, and during that pause, [fans of the current show] will grow up a few years and start writing stories and they’ll bring it back. So I have absolute faith that that will survive because I am living proof of it and that’s what happens to good ideas. No good idea ever dies."

As if all of that isn’t enough to agitate the fanbase, there’s the fact that the release schedule for the show has changed for ‘The Reality War,’ the final episode of the new season — for the first time, the show will not be available on Disney+ internationally before the show begins its broadcast airing in the UK, so as to prevent spoilers ruining the experience. (It’ll reportedly drop at 1:50pm ET, 10:50am PT on May 31 on Disney+.)

So, what kind of spoilers might leak otherwise? Well, multiple social media accounts have claimed to have access to the episode ahead of time, and there is one recurring theme in their accounts: that the episode will feature Gatwa’s 15th Doctor regenerating, ending the actor’s time on the show. Who the Doctor becomes is an open question, however, as the alleged ‘leaks’ differ on that matter: some say that it will purposefully not be revealed who the next Doctor is, while others claim that he’ll regenerate into a female Doctor played by an actress who’s previously appeared on the show — leading many fans to speculate that it’ll mean a return of Billie Piper to the series, somewhat surprisingly. One version of the so-called ‘leaks’ even has it that Piper will return as an intentional ending to the entire show.

Again, none of this is anything close to confirmed; the BBC is, as it stated above, refusing to comment on the future of the series. The BBC/Disney+ deal for Doctor Who, announced in 2022, was for 26 episodes, with an option to extend afterwards. When you count up the two seasons of Gatwa's time as the Doctor, that's only 16 episodes - but if you include the David Tennant anniversary specials and Christmas specials, as well as the upcoming The War Between the Land and the Sea spin-off, you hit 26 overall. 

Would Disney+ extend its deal? That's an open question. While Disney+ does not release viewer data, in promotion for the current season the streamer announced that it “was a top 5 series on Disney+ globally every week it aired, as well as being the BBC’s top drama for under 35’s this year, making it one of the biggest programmes for the demographic across all streamers and broadcasters.” It's clearly a hit — but whether it's enough of a hit to be worth the money spent on it remains unclear. 

Is all of this uncertainty and rumor and speculation around the show's next episode an intentional fake-out, and tomorrow’s season finale will be immediately followed by an announcement of future seasons? Could a regeneration really be coming? Right now, anything and everything feels possible — which is likely the chaotic energy Davies wants to project headed into a finale that teases literal apocalypse for the Doctor and other characters.

Doctor Who’s season finale drops 1:50pm ET, 10:50am PT on May 31.

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