‘Doctor Who’ Showrunner Officially Confirms Cancelled Plans for Sci-Fi Spin-Off
Russell T. Davies has revealed that plans for further Doctor Who spin-offs were dropped after the franchise’s Disney+ partnership ended. The proposed follow-up to The War Between the Land and the Sea would have explored a conflict on a Moon base, but it was never officially announced and now appears unlikely to proceed.
Davies said the spin-off could have returned each year with a different conflict, including stories about Earth and the Moon. In the planned sequel, Jemma Redgrave’s Kate Lethbridge-Stewart would have faced a US president who seized a Moon base and its nuclear weapons, while a strange presence was uncovered nearby. The 2025 series followed UNIT amid tensions between humanity and the underwater Homo Aqua; Davies is leaving Doctor Who as the franchise seeks a new producer.
- Davies says the Disney+ deal’s end halted spin-off plans.
- A sequel would have centred on a US president taking over a Moon base.
- The project has no official announcement or release date.
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Doctor Who is a long-running British science-fiction series about an alien time traveller known as the Doctor. Its stories have also inspired spin-offs, including The War Between the Land and the Sea, which follows UNIT, a fictional organisation that deals with threats to Earth.
Kate Lethbridge-Stewart, played by Jemma Redgrave, leads UNIT. The spin-off explored tensions between humans and the underwater Homo Aqua, and its proposed follow-up would have involved a dispute over a Moon base and nuclear weapons.
The series is made by the BBC, which partnered with Disney+ to bring Doctor Who to a wider international audience. Russell T Davies has been the showrunner, the person overseeing the programme’s creative direction; he is leaving as the franchise looks for a new producer.