10 Failed Doctor Who Movies (And Why They Didn't Happen)

6. Paramount's Michael Jackson Blockbuster

doctor who
BBC Studios

A lot of famous actors have been tipped to play the Doctor over the years, but one of the weirdest choices was easily pop star Michael Jackson, who was Paramount Pictures' number one choice to play the character back in 1988.

Apparently, the studio's interest in Jackson was driven by the success of the Warner Bros movie Moonwalker, which was a box-office hit, and also starred Jackson.

Paramount liked the Doctor Who movie's screenplay, but they wanted a say in the casting if they were to finance the project, and the pop star was their desired pick. If Jackson declined for whatever reason, then the back-up plan - bizarrely - was to ask Bill Cosby to lead the movie. Yeah. Can't say that would have aged very well.

Ultimately though, none of these casting choices happened, because Paramount's offer was rejected by Daltenreys, a company that was heavily involved with Doctor Who's movie struggles in the late '80s and early '90s.

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Danny has been with WhatCulture for almost nine years, and is currently Doctor Who Editor and WhoCulture Channel Manager, overseeing all of WhatCulture's Whoniverse coverage. He has been writing and video editing for 10+ years, and first got a taste for content creation after making his own Doctor Who trailers and uploading them to YouTube (they're admittedly a bit rusty by today's standards). If you need someone to recite every Doctor Who episode in order or to tell you about the making of 1988's Remembrance of the Daleks, Danny is the person to ask.