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New Doctor Who movie rumours surface, Johnny Depp linked

Simon Brew


A fresh rumour or two surrounding the big screen Doctor Who adventure has surfaced. You’re going to need quite a lot of salt…

Published on Jun 30, 2010

It's little secret that Russell T Davies has moved to America, where he's currently working on a fourth season of Doctor Who spin-off, Torchwood. It's also little secret that he's expressed interest in writing and putting together a big screen adventure for Doctor Who.

However, a new story has surfaced - which we discovered via the fine folks at io9 - regarding possible details of a Doctor Who movie. And from where we're sitting, there doesn't look like much in the way of truth about it.

The report, which has surfaced at Tor.com, suggested that Russell T Davies is working on a script for the film, with the idea being to get the film in cinemas for 2012. That bit sounds plausible. Where it all starts to go wrong is when it's revealed that Johnny Depp "has been confirmed in the iconic role of The Doctor".

We're willing to go out on a limb here and suggest that hasn't happened at all. We're happy to wear egg on our faces if we're wrong (no change there), but it's sending our BS radar a bit off the scale.

It doesn't help that the Tor.com piece is citing a report from a website called PubArticles, which has since pulled its article from its site. According to Tor.com, PubArticles revealed that the planned story would take the Doctor "on a journey through time and space with a crew of volunteers treating humanity's illnesses brought on by invading aliens. He cures the bubonic plague and then goes to Africa to fight Ebola."

What next? Does he adopt a few kids too?

We'd be amazed if any of this, outside of the 2012 date and Russell T Davies' involvement, proves to be true. Stranger things have happened, to be fair. But not this strange, surely?

Tor.com

 

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Users Comments

Re: New Doctor Who movie rumours surface, Johnny Depp linked
Posted By Viridis 1 June 30, 2010 07:39:48 AM

I hope this is just BS. It has to be. Please be fake. Please.

Re: New Doctor Who movie rumours surface, Johnny Depp linked
Posted By mooseglove 1 June 30, 2010 08:00:52 AM

Why even bother publishing this. Utter.Utter.Utter.Bollocks

Re: New Doctor Who movie rumours surface, Johnny Depp linked
Posted By Sprocket 1 June 30, 2010 08:21:39 AM

Oh please..... slow news day at Tor.com?

Re: New Doctor Who movie rumours surface, Johnny Depp linked
Posted By FonceFalooda 1 June 30, 2010 08:55:51 AM

NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO!!!!!!!!! NO NO NO NO... NO!!!! No Burton/Depp Who, not now, not EVER!!!!!! I'll boycott that like I boycotted the damn Hitchhiker's Guide movie. >:(

Re: New Doctor Who movie rumours surface, Johnny Depp linked
Posted By Zephos 1 June 30, 2010 08:56:40 AM

Hahah balls indeed, but thanks for reporting it anyway. it's good for a laugh. The ridiculous thing is that RTD has said many times that he's done with the Doctor. He had his shot (which was wonderful) and now he's stepped aside. He also cares too much about the canon and continuity of the Doctor to arbitrarily regenerate him into Johnny Depp.

Re: New Doctor Who movie rumours surface, Johnny Depp linked
Posted By bobsuncorp 1 June 30, 2010 09:19:07 AM

So that would make Depp the 11th and a half Doctor?

Re: New Doctor Who movie rumours surface, Johnny Depp linked
Posted By laowaichris 1 June 30, 2010 10:09:15 AM

It's obviously a load of rubbish. I can't imagine RTD messing with the series like that, he loves it too much (whatever anybody tells you). I think the only way they could ever do a DW movie would either be to: - Continue from the series with the 11th Doctor. - Make a prequel story -- the first Doctor as a younger man maybe. Or, in a dream world I'd love to see a feature film of the Time War with the 8th and 9th Doctors. But that's never going to happen...

Re: New Doctor Who movie rumours surface, Johnny Depp linked
Posted By DamonD 1 June 30, 2010 11:36:41 AM

Even better, Depp is due to star with all of the previous Doctors thanks to the wonders of CGI! Have they done that one yet?

Re: New Doctor Who movie rumours surface, Johnny Depp linked
Posted By Dutchface 1 June 30, 2010 11:50:28 AM

aww it's funny because it is horse shite. why would they do that? ... people are smarter than that to make a film which doesn't have the current cast in it... ain't they?

Re: New Doctor Who movie rumours surface, Johnny Depp linked
Posted By kivgeek 1 June 30, 2010 03:43:58 PM

I vomit at the idea. have David Matt or both if you want and a story the level or Children of Earth. If the go with this story...please give the role to Anglina Jolie and drop it right in the same crap pile as the Peter cushing Dr. Who movies

Re: New Doctor Who movie rumours surface, Johnny Depp linked
Posted By Tindog 1 June 30, 2010 04:49:03 PM

Really? After the MESS that was made of the last attempt at Americanised Who with Paul McGann? Also, RTD doesn't own the rights, the BBC does and would they really want anything now under RTD's control when the new series has gone a hell of a lot stronger with Moffat helming it?

Re: New Doctor Who movie rumours surface, Johnny Depp linked
Posted By theshadowalker 1 June 30, 2010 05:17:18 PM

Arrrh! FonceFalooda, why'd you have to mention that damn H2G2 movie? I've been trying to forget that horrifically tone-deaf adaptation for some years now! Awful, awful, awful. Sigh. And, as for a big-screen Who? Please, please, please NO! Who's moved on from RTD (and, yes, from Tennant too...because I'm assuming the whole Depp rumour is BS); and such a movie could have a disastrous effect on the ongoing series itself.

Re: New Doctor Who movie rumours surface, Johnny Depp linked
Posted By FonceFalooda 1 June 30, 2010 06:41:38 PM

The only, and I mean ONLY way to do a movie properly is to do a sequel to "Curse of the Fatal Death", with Rowan Atkinson. The TV show can continue on unmolested, and we get another hour and a half of Rowan's wonderful Doctor! ----- There! I've solved the problem, now DO IT! ;)

Re: New Doctor Who movie rumours surface, Johnny Depp linked
Posted By FonceFalooda 1 June 30, 2010 06:46:19 PM

Oops. Just occurred to me that it'd have to be a prequel. No problem! Everyone loves prequels. :)

Re: New Doctor Who movie rumours surface, Johnny Depp linked
Posted By Name1ess 1 June 30, 2010 08:14:04 PM

The largest salt mine in the world is located at Goderich Ontario Canada, on the eastern shore of Lake Huron. It is 1800 feet deep and extends 14 km under the lake. And even if you mined all of it there still wouldn't be enough to take with this story.

Re: New Doctor Who movie rumours surface, Johnny Depp linked
Posted By QuestionEvil 1 June 30, 2010 08:28:34 PM

I'm entirely against the idea, however the only way it could work is if it was an origin story that fit into the Dr. Who universe. When we first meet the Doctor he's an old man who stole the Tardis and his grand daughter from a bunch of self righteous Time Lords. The first doctor did not appear as an old man, he became one through however many years it takes for a Time lord to age naturally. It might be interesting if they did explore that aspect of the doctor, Johnny Deep could pass as a young William Hartnell, and it could clear up some of the back story about about how he stole the Tardis, and how he broke the chameleon circuit in the first place which made it into the iconic police box it is today.

Re: New Doctor Who movie rumours surface, Johnny Depp linked
Posted By Headache2112 1 June 30, 2010 09:49:03 PM

QuestionEvil: I like your idea of having Johnny Depp play a young 1st Doctor. That could work. In part 2 of "An Unearthly Child," Susan is surprised to see that the TARDIS has not altered itself to blend in to the prehistoric area it's materialized in. Which makes one figure that when the 1st Doctor and his grand-daughter first got to Earth, the TARDIS must have materialized out in the heart of London somewhere, and the Doctor later moved it - physically - to the junkyard at Totter's Lane. Otherwise, once it materialized in the junkyard, it should have "disguised" itself as a piece of junk. I like the idea of Johnny Depp playing the part, but it does seem to be all rumor at this point. However, I've long suspected that RTD and Julie Gardner's move to Hollywood had something to do with a DW theatrical movie. I think David Tenant's decision to leave the show had a negative effect on things though. I could certainly be wrong. I often am.

Re: New Doctor Who movie rumours surface, Johnny Depp linked
Posted By pete3206 1 June 30, 2010 11:02:24 PM

Such knee jerk reaction. It won't happen, but I think a story with the younger 1st doctor might be a good idea. Johnny Depp? Why not?

Re: New Doctor Who movie rumours surface, Johnny Depp linked
Posted By DamonD 1 July 1, 2010 09:21:26 AM

Or an even better question, Johnny Depp - why?

Re: New Doctor Who movie rumours surface, Johnny Depp linked
Posted By tfarrago 1 July 1, 2010 02:12:38 PM

Ok, don't spit on me, but I think Depp would be great and here's why: He's extremely marketable. Even if the movie strays from the canon, it's still an excellent way to bring an entirely new fanbase to the series. Look at the success of the new Star Trek movie - you think that didn't spawn a new generation of Trekkies? All that matters is, is the movie enjoyable? Hitchhiker's was disappointing not b/c it was a bad adaptation but b/c it was a bad movie. Conversely, there are a dozen word-for-word adaptations of the Terry Pratchett novels that are pretty much unwatchable. Would have been much better to tweak the canon for film than to just "film the book", in essence. And let's be honest - Johnny Depp is an excellent actor. It's not like he can't handle the roll. And only slightly less important is that he's marketable - nobody is going to go see a movie starring any of the TV Whos except the hardcore fans, and their numbers don't justify the investment in a big-screen venture. Side note: this reminds me a lot of the backlash when Heath Ledger signed up for Joker, and everyone certainly had to eat their criticism on that one.

Re: New Doctor Who movie rumours surface, Johnny Depp linked
Posted By gbjay1 1 July 3, 2010 04:56:32 AM

Out of respect for the article, I'm commenting that everyone else has already said it all... GBJ

Re: New Doctor Who movie rumours surface, Johnny Depp linked
Posted By Zokko 1 July 5, 2010 02:25:26 PM

It sounds a lot more interesting than Moffat's Season 5, which was an insult to 'Dr.Who'. I bet Johnny Depp does not get to wear a fez!
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