Doctor Who Producer Compares Season 11 to Star Wars: The Force Awakens


There's a lot of hype for Doctor Who season 11, which features the first female Doctor in the franchise's history. Fans see it as a long time coming since there was never anything gender specific about being a Doctor and the fact that it took so long will be a question that fans ask long after. Interestingly enough, aside from the Doctor the series now has a new cast of characters that fans aren't familiar with; drawing comparisons to the newer Star Wars films.

In fact, Doctor Who executive producer Matt Strevens and showrunner Chris Chibnall have said that they want the new cast to capture fan interest like the newer characters from the current Star Wars films have.

During NYCC (via Inverse), Strevens and Chrbnall went through great lengths to compare the 11th season of Doctor Who to The Force Awakens, saying that they want fans to connect to these new characters so that they won't even miss the older ones. This happened quickly in The Force Awakens, with fans finding themselves enthralled with Finn and Rey; almost making them wish Han, Chewie, and Leia didn't appear.

"It's similar to what we loved about something like The Force Awakens. Where initially people would go in thinking, ‘Oh I can't wait to see Harrison Ford or Carrie Fisher.' But actually, you sort of forget them in the first half hour when you meet John Boyega and Daisy Ridley because you're instantly in love with these new guys."

It's too soon to tell if they will achieve this desired effect but when you consider the positive buzz that has followed the current season, it could happen. If a franchise like this is expected to stick around, it has to make changes to the formula and this could be it. Honestly, it's done wonders for Marvel and Star Wars so maybe it will work for this.

The Woman Who Fell to Earth is the first episode of Doctor Who Series 11. The new season airs on BBC One on October 7.

Read:New Doctor Who Series 11 Clip Reveals How Thirteen Meets Her Companions

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