"Doctor Who" is returning with its ninth season on September 19, and we got a chance to talk to stars Peter Capaldi (Twelfth Doctor), Jenna Coleman (Clara Oswald) and Michelle Gomez (Missy) at San Diego Comic-Con. In addition, we also spoke to show runner Steven Moffat. The show debuted its trailer at the show’s panel and we even got a glimpse of "Game of Thrones" star Maisie Williams (Arya Stark) and a hint about what she’ll be doing in the show.
What character is Maisie Williams playing?Courtesy of BBC
Coleman said that Clara and the Doctor are much closer now, after all the events of Season 8. She lost her boyfriend, Missy tried to destroy the world … it’s only natural that they would bond. “I think they’re so much more on an even keel this series. It’s not as complicated. They’re more united. They know where each other stands. They’ve gotten into a groove. They’re united together.”
The Doctor is felling better now, too. Capaldi said that he’s got a new lease on life and feels like it’s still too short, despite being over two thousand years old. He said that the show means a lot to him. He started watching the show (which is 50 years old) when he was a kid. He said he was blown away meeting the Tenth Doctor when he appeared in the episode “Fires of Pompeii.” “I did an episode with David Tennant. It was fantastic. I was so excited to be there. I thought that would be my only contribution. I remember saying to him, ‘David, David, where’s the TARDIS…I got quite teary.’”
Peter Capaldi is back as the Twelfth DoctorCourtesy of BBC
Missy is going to be a huge threat this season. Gomez said, “She has no boundaries. It’s just various shades of darkness to Missy. It can get into a sort of morass of blackness. There’s a weird sort of perverse justice coming from her. Like any good little psychopath, she believes she’s doing the right thing and for her, the right thing is to annihilate the universe.”
Could the next Doctor be a woman? Moffat confirmed that he could definitely regenerate that way, as evidenced by the Master regenerating as Missy (and Matt Smith’s first line about what gender he was). He said, “whether or not that happens, is a different question.”
Jenna Coleman's Clara is different this coming seasonCourtesy of BBC
Capaldi talked about guest star Maisie Williams. “It was great. I’m a big, big "Game of Thrones" fans, so I was excited when Maisie came in,” he laughed. “Maisie had her eighteenth birthday with us on the show. She’s been on Game of Thrones since she was twelve. She’s very skilled professionally. Which is hilarious. She knows where to stand, she knows where her light is, and she’s seventeen. But she’s not spoiled at all. She’s a great girl to be around. She was so much fun. Of course, she spoke a completely different language. She spoke eighteen-year-old language. She taught me all different phrases and things.”
Doctor Who Poster Courtesy of BBC
Finally, Coleman said that “ages ago” they had discussed doing a web series that explored what the Doctor was like when he’s alone. “Trying to be human but getting it all wrong.”
"Doctor Who" Series 9 Trailer
Have Your Say
Check out the trailer below and let us know what you think! Are you excited for Season 9? Who do you think Maisie Williams is playing? Who’s your favorite Doctor? Geronimo!
