Doctor Who season 11: Benedict Cumberbatch cheers Jodie Whittaker casting
Does the Sherlock actor have a direct connection to the franchise? Not exactly, but he does have an indirect one. Sherlock is written by Steven Moffat and Mark Gatiss; the former is the the departing showrunner for the series, whereas the latter has had a valuable part to play in the franchise, as well. Given Benedict’s status as a prominent British actor, and also a favorite among many geek audiences, we do think that his words hold a certain degree of weight.
Cumberbatch’s comments, which you can see below, come courtesy of the Radio Times:
“It’s an alien – why can’t it be a woman? Why can’t it be any gender? I don’t speak as someone who has the right as a fan to have an incredibly strong opinion. I just speak as someone who wants to see Jodie Whittaker’s performance as the Doctor. I think she’s an extraordinary actress and we’re lucky culturally to have got her to agree to do it, let alone any debate ensuing about whether it was right or wrong … Just go for it – let’s see what happens.”
We know that there are going to be some people out there within the Doctor Who fandom who are critical of Whittaker’s casting; however, we still have a feeling that we are going to have an opportunity to see some great stuff here. Showrunner Chris Chibnall is making a great risk in bringing her on board, and we think that with this show, swinging for the fences is often a million times better than playing it safe. We do foresee that the headlines about Whittaker’s casting are going to lead to larger ratings for the upcoming Christmas Special and the season 11 premiere. Beyond that, we’ll just have to see what the future holds. Given that Whittaker’s appearance in the Christmas Special is going to be so brief, in the end we do think that most people curious about her casting are going to keep watching moving into the new season premiere. Odds are, the next season of the show is going to be starting at some point in late 2018.
What do you think about some of the latest Benedict Cumberbatch comments?
Be sure to share now in some of the comments below! Meanwhile, you can head over to the link here in the event you want to see some other insight on the Christmas Special. (Photo: BBC.)