Doctor Who producer reassures fans about Disney involvement
Joel Collins said it means "the show is bigger" but also "the same".
Doctor Who executive producer Joel Collins has addressed Disney’s new involvement in the series, reassuring fans concerned about the future of the show.
It was announced back in October 2022 that Disney Plus would be the new home for Doctor Who internationally, with new episodes starting from the 60th anniversary specials airing globally on Disney Plus, while still airing exclusively on the BBC in the UK and Ireland.
However, it was unclear how much creative control Disney would have over future episodes.
But now, speaking with SFX Magazine (via GamesRadar), Collins has assured fans that Doctor Who won't be forcibly changed by Disney's involvement.
He explained: "From the Disney perspective, it's just a bigger audience. So, the show is bigger. But it's the same? It's hard to explain... So, all of the fear that everyone had, the 'Disneyisation' or whatever you call it, that would only happen if it wasn't being made by Russell. Or by somebody who wasn't as big a fan as Russell."
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He continued: “Russell wanted to bring fun to it, he just wanted to bring joy into the show and challenge people in all the right ways that Russell does. But also make it fun at the right points, make it really fun, take you on a ride.
"So, I think that's where the barrier to entry is removed, because adults and children alike enjoy that. And it's not like, 'Oh, it's just for kids,' or 'It's just for adults' or any of this stuff."
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Collins added that Davies has in fact previously drawn inspiration from Disney content, explaining: "Actually he always looked at Pixar films, in the way he wanted this to be. If you look at that Christmas Special, he wanted it to have the fun of a Pixar film, and the complex levels of a Pixar film.
"No matter how well they're animated, they're all in the writing. They just are. They do workshops over the jokes and the humour and the nuance. They work with every bit of that writing in Pixar, to make sure that when they get to the animation it reaches every beat, and Russell just has that innately."
Season 14, starring Ncuti Gatwa as the Fifteenth Doctor and Millie Gibson as Ruby Sunday, is set to land in May 2024, taking viewers back in time to the Regency era and to the 1960s for an epic adventure with the Beatles.
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Doctor Who will return in May. Check out more of our Sci-Fi coverage or visit our TV Guide and Streaming Guide to find out what's on.
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