'It Wasn't a Better Show With More Money': Doctor Who Director Reflects on Disney's Ditched Funding Deal, and Admits 'Something Went Wrong'

Doctor Who, Daredevil and The Last of Us manager Peter Hoar has reflected connected Disney+ ditching its lucrative co-funding woody for Doctor Who, and admitted that yet "something went wrong."

Hoar primitively directed Matt Smith occurrence A Good Man Goes to War, earlier returning to the BBC's flagship sci-fi bid for Ncuti Gatwa's much caller stories The Robot Revolution and Lucky Day. These formed portion of show's astir caller play — the 2nd and last acceptable of episodes brought to beingness with an injection of Disney cash.

Speaking now, months aft the BBC was near to corroborate Disney had walked away, Hoar suggested the woody hadn't been palmy arsenic the amusement hadn't gotten "better" contempt the other wealth connected screen.

"I don't deliberation anybody would uncertainty the skills astatine the beforehand enactment of that amusement but thing went wrong," Hoar told Deadline. "I deliberation determination were tons of areas you could constituent fingers astatine but yet it wasn't a amended amusement with much money."

Still, Hoar framed this yet arsenic a "good thing" — arsenic without Disney+ connected committee and with different streamers besides looking to beryllium much economical with their ain investments, "we haven't got the wealth anymore, cipher has."

Hoar was interviewed arsenic helium revealed plans to reboot chap classical BBC sci-fi amusement Blake's 7, a task he's undertaking alongside A Good Girl's Guide To Murder and The Witcher shaper Matthew Bouch. Discussing wherefore present was a bully clip to revive the Blake's 7 franchise, Bouch noted that the brace had seen "a spread successful the marketplace successful the UK – peculiarly with the well-publicized dropping disconnected of Doctor Who – for genre-based British IP." Ouch.

The BBC's belated confirmation that it would proceed Doctor Who without Disney's backing came aft months of speculation surrounding the show's future. Current Doctor Who showrunner Russell T Davies had antecedently talked of penning scripts for a 3rd play successful the show's existent era. Now, each the BBC has confirmed is that it volition money a single, one-off occurrence penned by Davies to beryllium shown this Christmas — which galore fans expect volition beryllium utilized to wrapper up his cliffhanger, earlier a much imperishable aboriginal for the amusement is found.

Deadline antecedently reported that Disney's Doctor Who woody fell isolated owed to concerns astir the show's fund and shrinking assemblage — with nary proposition it was apt to interruption done to a mainstream American audience. Amid disapproval of the series' penning and communicative arcs, adjacent Doctor Who actor, writer and superfan Mark Gatiss precocious suggested the amusement was successful request of a rest.

"We’d similar to convey Disney+ for being terrific planetary partners and collaborators implicit the past 2 seasons, and for the upcoming The War Between the Land and the Sea," said Lindsay Salt, the BBC's Director of Drama, upon the announcement that Disney had walked away. "The BBC remains afloat committed to Doctor Who, which continues to beryllium 1 of our astir loved dramas, and we are delighted that Russell T Davies has agreed to constitute america different spectacular Christmas peculiar for 2026. We tin guarantee fans, the Doctor is not going anywhere, and we volition beryllium announcing plans for the adjacent bid successful owed people which volition guarantee the TARDIS remains astatine the bosom of the BBC."

Tom Phillips is IGN's News Editor. You tin scope Tom astatine [email protected] oregon find him connected Bluesky @tomphillipseg.bsky.social