A mere week after Matt Smith announced he would be leaving his role as the Eleventh Doctor on Doctor Who at the end of the year, reports are emerging that the BBC has offered the role of the Twelfth Doctor to British actor Rory Kinnear.
Kinnear, who has appeared in the past two James Bond films and is a celebrated theatre actor, would mark a bit of a departure from the program’s past two Doctors, Smith and David Tennant, in both look and age. In fact, Kinnear would offer a look similar to that of the show’s Ninth Doctor, played by Christopher Eccleston.
Kinnear would also be a disappointing choice for fans who have been clamoring for the next Doctor to be either a woman or an actor of color (both would be firsts for the 50 year old series). While the BBC has yet to officially comment on any potential choices, the network likely has until this fall to make a decision.
Traditionally, the Doctor “regenerates” into his (or possibly her) new body at the end of the outgoing Doctor’s final episode, ending the previous storyline and setting the stage for a new era of Doctor Who. A choice will have to be made prior to the filming of the series’ annual Christmas episode, which will be Smith’s last.
