The New Doctor Who: Which Star Should Take Over for Peter Capaldi?

Yes, Hayley Atwell is on the list.

By Lauren Piester Feb 01, 2017 12:01 AMTags

Yes, this is yet another list of all the people who should take over for Peter Capaldi as the star of Doctor Who, made by a bunch of Americans. And yes, there are already a thousand lists just like this out there, but finding the next Doctor is incredibly important, and we all might as well make our voices heard. 

The entire universe relies on the Doctor to fend off all matter of terrors, from scary robots to evils of the past and future to nasty creatures threatening to enslave or kill entire populations or send them hurtling back through time, and now that Peter Capaldi is stepping down after season 10, the job is about to be open once again. We (with some help from the internet) have a few suggestions as to who should fill it. 

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ABC

Hayley Atwell 

As Agent Carter, she proved she can save the world from all kinds of evil. She's funny, charming, talented, loved by all, and most importantly, she has already said she wants the job. Plus, let's face it: it's beyond time for a woman to take on the role. 

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Richard Ayoade

The British comedian has been all over TV in the UK for years, and is probably best known for being all out of milk as Moss on The IT Crowd. He's also at the top of many, many lists of potential future Doctors, including ours. In fact, we'd be happy to see Richard Ayoade cast in most roles. 

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John Boyega

Yeah, he's very busy with some silly thing called Star Wars, but we can already picture our favorite rogue stormtrooper stepping up against the terrors of the universe. 

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CW

Rahul Kohli

We don't want iZombie to lose its doctor (or for TV to lose iZombie), but we cannot deny that Kohli would be an excellent choice. He's got goofy charm for days, and the hair of an otherworldly being, so he's sort of perfect for the gig. He's also already campaigning for it. 

BBC

Karen Gillan

We miss Amy Pond so much. We'd love to have her back as anyone at all, but she'd truly be a great Doctor. In fact, we'd also take Billie Piper, or Freema Agyeman, or Catherine Tate while we're at it. 

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Helen Mirren

What is she even doing these days (other than like four movies)? She may not have felt she was up for the job back in 2013, but she did say it was time for the Doctor to be a woman, and we see no reason why she shouldn't be that woman. 

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Millie Bobby Brown

Girl can do anything. If she can save her friends from a demogorgon, she can also save the world from Daleks. Wouldn't it be kind of cool to see a young girl play the ancient savior of the universe? 

Any of the Harry Potter kids

Literally any of them, but Daniel Radcliffe and Rupert Grint would both make excellent if very different Doctors. We're picturing Radcliffe like Harry on Felix Felicis in Half Blood Prince, while Grint would be a bit more reservedly quirky. He already apparently owns an ice cream truck and a hoverboard, and that seems like a great start. 

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Olivia Colman

Not only is Colman an incredible actress, but she is also already used to working with new showrunner Chris Chibnall. He created Broadchurch, which she starred on with former Who star David Tennant

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Ben Whishaw

Whishaw, who starred in the recent James Bond movies and Cloud Atlas, is rumored to be at the top of the shortlist for the role. He'd be fine! 

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Adele

We're getting crazy here, but Adele is a delightful, hilarious human being, and she could very well have some serious acting chops. We would watch Adele fight aliens, and we would watch her do it all day long. 

Doctor Who returns Saturday, April 15 at 9 p.m. on BBC America.