Doctor Who
Neil Patrick Harris is the latest improver toDoctor Who ’s forthcoming 60th - anniversary special , where he ’ll face off against a returning David Tennant . On the topic of who , or what , Harris is playing in the special , return showrunner Russell T Davies , the author stated that " You ’ll just have to wait . But I promise you , the stuff we ’re pip now is off the scale . Doctor mind ! ” It ’s an sinister argument that suggest that appropriately for an day of remembrance special , Neil Patrick Harris is playing a villain from the Doctor ’s long history .
reach Neil Patrick Harris ' all-inclusive vocation across stage and screen , includingHow I Met Your Motherand a memorable role as the baddie ofThe Matrix Resurrections , he’ll be a big hook for audiences in 2023 . Harris and Davy have previously go together on an episode of the writer ’s lauded dramatic event seriesIt ’s A sinfulness , but it ’s likely that this will be a more hearty use . Discussing the role on his own Instagram , Neil Patrick Harris promised to " assay my hardest to do my spoilt . "
As ever with the announcement of a big - name guest hotshot , Doctor Whofans have been speculating about who Neil Patrick Harris will be playing . Davies badger that the fresh yield team is shooting poppycock that ’s " off the scale " , which suggests a villain that has not yet been seen in modernDoctor Who . With the recentreturn of the Sea Devils , the show is clearly front into the back - catalog of villains that can be brought back with today ’s visual core technology . Given that the photo of Neil Patrick Harris does n’t show him under layers of prosthetics , it suggests that this is a more humanoid threat for the Doctor . With the Master having returned multiple times since the series return in 2005 , it ’s extremely improbable that it will be him . That said , there are several choice fromDoctor Who ’s scallywag ' verandah who Neil Patrick Harris could play .
The Meddling Monk
The Meddling Monk , who first look in the 1965Doctor Whoserial " The Time Meddler " , is regularly rumored to be on the way back . Originally play by funniness actor Peter Butterworth , the Monk was the very first Timelord other than the Doctor to be introduced to the interview . He delighted in meddle with historic event , trying and fail to change the outcome of the Battle of Hastings . He return again during " The Dalek ’s Masterplan " , but has n’t been seen since with the character going on to regularlyreturn inDoctor Whoaudio dramas .
There have been hearsay of the Monk ’s return throughout the years , include one memorable rumor that he ’d be play byStar Trek ’s Patrick Stewart . Writer Peter Harness once revealed that he ’d pitch a Meddling Monk account to Steven Moffat , which would have cast Matt Berry as the classicDoctor Whocharacter . Given Neil Patrick Harris ' own background in comedy , he would be a good fit for a regeneration of the Monk opposite David Tennant ’s Doctor . However , while it ’s adorned with creature for tinkering or tampering , his costume does n’t reflect a Monk , so it ’s unlikely that Harris will be playing this exceptional role .
The Valeyard/Dream Lord
Some early rumor prior to the 60th anniversary began filming advise thatDavid Tennant would play The Valeyard , rather than the Doctor . The Valeyard is , in inwardness , the malevolent version of the Doctor . The precise nature of the Valeyard has never been to the full explored follow their exclusive show in " The Trial of a Timelord " but he ’s either an amalgam of the Doctor ’s darkest thoughts , an vicious positive feedback , or a mixture of both . While the Valeyard has n’t yet returned toDoctor Who , a very exchangeable character look during Matt Smith ’s first time of year as the Eleventh Doctor .
Neil Patrick Harris is weary a bow tie . The Dream Lord also wore a bow tie . This , however , is most likely a coincidence . The Dream Lord ( Toby Jones ) only appeared in oneDoctor Whoepisode , season 5 , episode 7 , " Amy ’s selection " , but he made a long-lived impression . He was revealed to be the Doctor ’s subconscious , voicing his drear intellection and embodying the Doctor ’s self - odium . AsDoctor Whomoves into a new era in 2023 , the Valeyard / Dream Lord would be a perfect way for the fiber to confront the darkness within them follow revelation around the Timeless Child . Harris and Tennant are both incredibly sympathetic performers that are capable of going to dark places with their characters . Neil Patrick Harris would therefore be a expectant hydrofoil for David Tennant as an evil Doctor .
The Master (of the Land of Fiction)
When announce the regaining of David Tennant and Catherine Tate forDoctor Who ’s sixtieth day of remembrance , RTD name - checked the Land of Fiction as a potential explanation for their return . The Land of Fiction is a pocket universe , in which fictional characters from comic , myth , and legends hold out and breathe . The Doctor , Jamie , and Zoe were immobilize there during the 1968 serial " The creative thinker Robber , " where they interact with unicorns , superheroes , and Gulliver himself . Given the likely coming into court ofDoctor Whocomics villain in the 60th , it ’s potential that Russell T Davies is taking a high - conception , meta plan of attack to the day of remembrance special .
The Eleventh Doctor once noted that " we ’re all level in the end " , so couldDoctor Who ’s 60th anniversary special be about the medico ’s lifespan as a write up from myth and legend ? pass on the current enchantment around multiverses in democratic culture , it could allow a unique twirl on the trend . The Doctor has been having adventure across space and time for thou of years now , it reach sense that versions of those adventures would have passed into the very myths and legend that keep the Land of Fiction running . away from his apron , the hair’s-breadth and spectacles of Neil Patrick Harris ' character are n’t a million miles off from those of the original Master of the Land of Fiction . Not only that , but it would satisfy amissedDoctor Whoopportunityfrom RTD ’s original era - a Christmas special where David Tennant battled fictitious animate being from the mind ofHarry Potterauthor J.K. Rowling !
The Celestial Toymaker
The most obvious call for who Neil Patrick Harris will be playing inDoctor Who ’s 60th anniversary special is the supernal Toymaker . come out only once in the 1966 serial of the same name , the Toymaker is a sinewy being that beguile living organism and forces them to represent games for his entertainment . The trickster god is a familiar trope fromStar Trek , but it ’s one that rarely sport inDoctor Who . With RTD foretell " off the scale " view , it may be the perfect time to work back the persona .
His return was even tee up up by departingDoctor Whoshowrunner Chris Chibnall , in season 12 , installment 7 , " Can You Hear Me ? " The Toymaker is concisely referenced during the Thirteenth Doctor ’s showdown with the Eternals Zellin and Rakaya , suggesting that he ’s still out there play game . If Neil Patrick Harris is playing the Toymaker , then the output squad has wisely updated the costume from its elusive Mandarin costume to something that resembles Gepetto from Pinocchio . A more actual interpretation of the character , but one that get them into the 21st one C and eschews their elusive origins in East Asian stereotypes .
The Doctor and Donna being placed into a game for their very survival would be a great plot forDoctor Who ’s 60th - anniversary special . It recalls the Game of Rassilon from 1983 ’s " The Five Doctors " and would cater a befittingly gamy - concept timbre for the show go forward . With the return of the Celestial Toymaker , Doctor Whocould go beyond the shopworn alien invasion plots and tackle the realm of the gods . In casting a charismatic actor like Neil Patrick Harris in the function , the Toymaker could become the Doctor ’s very own version ofStar Trek ’s Q. It would open up some enormously exciting and " off thescale " storytelling possibilities for the show for 2023 and beyond .
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