Hugh Grant Rumored For New Doctor Who In ‘Marvel-Style Makeover’

Speculation is high on who the next Doctor will be once Jodie Whittaker’s Doctor Who run ends, and a new report has tipped Hugh Grant for the role. Consider the source, but a rumor from The Mirror says that returning showrunner Russell T. Davies is looking at Grant to play the new Doctor once Whittaker’s run ends this year.

According to the report, Davies is keen to have Grant take on the role and bring a “fresh feel” to the character, with a purported TV insider noting, “He offers many attributes – great actor, British, award-winning, Hollywood A-lister and excellent at comedy. Conversations are in progress.”

If the report is true and Grant does sign on, it would be a return of sorts for the actor who played the Doctor in a 1999 Comic Relief sketch. Davies wanted Grant to play the Doctor when he rebooted the show, but the star turned down the opportunity. He later said that he regretted saying now, noting, “It’s only when you see it on screen that you think, ‘Damn, that was good, why did I say no?”

The report also notes that Davies has a vision for a “Marvel-like product” which would build different franchises around the Doctor and other key characters. BBC Worldwide and Sony Pictures TV are said to be on board with that vision.

Davies is taking over as showrunner for Chris Chibnall, returning to the franchise for the first time since he left in 2009 and was replaced by Stephen Moffat. Chibnall and Whittaker will conclude their runs on the show with their final episodes this year.

Grant was recently seen in HBO’s limited series The Undoing and Guy Ritchie’s The Gentlemen. He’ll next be seen in Ritchie’s upcoming film Operation Fortune: Ruse de Guerre and the Dungeons & Dragons film.