'We Certainly Hope to Have a Discussion': Stargate, Independence Day Writer Wants to Reboot Doctor Who, After Report Claims He Wants to Bring Back David Tennant
· IGN
Hollywood screenwriter Dean Devlin has confirmed his interest in rebooting Doctor Who, as the BBC seeks to find a new production partner.
Devlin is known for his work as the co-writer of Stargate and Independence Day, and as the director of Gerard Butler disaster movie Geostorm. Devlin also runs LA-based production company Electric Company, which hopes to "have a discussion" with the BBC on Doctor Who's future.
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This month, a report in The Times claimed that Electric Company had already begun talks with the BBC and was keen to bring back fan-favorite star David Tennant — something that raised eyebrows, considering the fact that the broadcaster's official process for finding a co-production partner has not yet publicly begun.
Today, in a statement to Radio Times, Devlin denied that negotiations between the BBC and Electric Company had officially started, "preliminary or otherwise." Still, Devlin confirmed that his company would look to throw its hat in the ring "when the proper time comes [and] when they are prepared to speak with people."
The update follows an earlier post by Devlin on Facebook, in which he shared an AI-generated video featuring himself and various other former Doctor Who actors posing on the set of the TARDIS. "So BBC is putting Doctor Who out to tender," Devlin captioned the video. "Do you think they should partner with us at Electric Entertainment?"
To date, the only other production company to have publicly discussed bidding for Doctor Who has been BBC Studios — the broadcaster's commercially-funded arm that is seen as the most likely winner of the series' rights. Doctor Who was previously produced by Bad Wolf, the company founded by former BBC executives that also made His Dark Materials.
As for the return of David Tennant, narratively this would be relatively straightforward. The actor's most recent 14th Doctor incarnation is still active and living on Earth with his own TARDIS, providing one potential route forward for the series' story that avoids everything from the show's most recent Ncuti Gatwa era.
Doctor Who aired its final episode to date in May 2025, when Gatwa departed the BBC's flagship sci-fi show after a largely disappointing couple of seasons. Co-funding partner Disney was formally confirmed as having ditched the series not long after, while the era's showrunner Russell T Davies announced he was done with the show back in June, when it was revealed that this year's previously-confirmed Christmas Special was actually not being made.
As a BBC-funded show, Doctor Who relies on money from the broadcasting company's public-backed budget — which has been cut in real terms over the past decade, while the costs and expectations of making big budget TV have only grown. This is the reason that the BBC partnered with Disney in the first place for the Ncuti Gatwa era, and why the company is now seeking a fresh co-production partner as a replacement.
A recent report that cited TV insiders claimed that Doctor Who is now unlikely to return on-screen for up to five years while the series' production is rebuilt from the ground up. Solving the "problems" currently plaguing Doctor Who will take time, the series' former showrunner Chris Chibnall has also cautioned, while admitting that the show's most pressing issue was "primarily about money."
Tom Phillips is IGN's News Editor. You can reach Tom at [email protected] or find him on Bluesky @tomphillipseg.bsky.social