‘Doctor Who Is Going Nowhere’: Inside the New Spinoff, ‘The War Between the Land and the Sea’
Find out if fan favorite actors like Matt Smith and Karen Gillan plan to return to the 'Whoniverse'!
Doctor Who has been a beloved piece of television history ever since it first aired in 1963. Since then, devoted fans have supported the series and witnessed 16 doctors rotate in over the years. There have been different series, spinoffs and stories that are all interconnected, with the original show airing from 1963 until 1989. In 2005, it returned with a revival of the show and while that went on hiatus in 2022, a continuation occurred in 2023 that started where the revival left off and has since aired two seasons.
Recently, an announcement was made about a spinoff, which will jolt fans right back to the world of the sci-fi series and might just be the segue to more seasons of Doctor Who. But will beloved characters like Matt Smith’s Eleventh Doctor or Karen Gillan’s Amy Pond ever come back to the universe? Find out everything there is to know about the spinoff’s plot, release date and which familiar faces might make a return.
About the ‘Doctor Who’ spinoff
It’s finally time for Doctor Who fans to revisit the Whoniverse, as it is so cleverly called.
The spinoff series is titled The War Between the Land and the Sea. While a spinoff is not a direct follow-up to the Doctor Who series, it does incorporate similar characters and plots.
The official plot for the upcoming series, posted on the Doctor Who website, reads: “When a fearsome and ancient species emerges from the ocean, dramatically revealing themselves to humanity, an international crisis is triggered. With the entire population at risk, UNIT step into action as the land and sea wage war.” See the official teaser for the show below.
Who will star in the Doctor Who spinoff?
Since The War Between the Land and the Sea is a new series with a separate plot from Doctor Who, the stars of the show will be newcomers to the Whoniverse, although you may recognize a few faces.
As of press time, iconic actors like Matt Smith, who portrayed the Eleventh Doctor and Arthur Darvill, who starred as Rory Williams, will not be featured in the show. But that doesn’t mean you won’t see some of your other favorites.
The show will be led by Russell Tovey as Barclay and Gugu Mbatha-Raw as Salt. Barclay is an everyday man whose world is turned upside down when he’s drawn into a mission to save the world from a conflict between the humans and the Sea Devils, the iconic monsters from Doctor Who.
Alongside Tovey and Mbatha-Raw, two former Doctor Who stars will be reprising their roles in this spinoff. Fans will see Jemma Redgrave as Kate Stewart and Ruth Madeley as Shirley Bingham.
When is the release date?
Fans have been patiently waiting to re-enter the Whoniverse for a while now, but we may need to wait just a bit longer for The War Between the Land and the Sea. Currently, there is no official release date for the series, but the BBC director of content, Kate Phillips, has announced that it will be sometime in 2026.
“Rest assured Doctor Who is going nowhere,” Phillips said at the Edinburgh TV Festival. “Disney has been a great partnership and it continues with The War Between The Land and the Sea next year.”
One beloved character wants to return
Since it is likely there will be more Doctor Who in the future, fans want to know if any beloved characters would ever reprise their roles. One star, Karen Gillan, who played the role of Amy Pond, has spoken about her future in the Whoniverse and whether she is interested in coming back.
“If they’ll have me, absolutely,” Gillan shared. “But with Matt Smith and Arthur Darvill — it has to be with them.”
Smith starred alongside Gillan as the Eleventh Doctor, while Darvill portrayed Rory Williams, Amy’s husband.
You can catch up on previous episodes of Doctor Who on Prime Video, as well as other streaming platforms, and watch the most recent season on Disney+.
Conversation
All comments are subject to our Community Guidelines. Woman's World does not endorse the opinions and views shared by our readers in our comment sections. Our comments section is a place where readers can engage in healthy, productive, lively, and respectful discussions. Offensive language, hate speech, personal attacks, and/or defamatory statements are not permitted. Advertising or spam is also prohibited.
