Steve Moffat Exterminates Doctor Who Movie Rumour

Doctor Who fans can finally relax. Executive Producer and self proclaimed voice of Doctor Who, Steven Moffat, has crushed rumours of a Doctor Who movie being in the works. You'll remember earlier this year that Harry Potter director, David Yates, announced he was working with the BBC on making a Doctor Who movie. After being bombarded with questions about the movie rumour at the San Diego Comic Convention, Steven Moffat has emphatically denied that such a project is taking place, "There isn't a film. I can assure you definitively that was all nonsense," said Moffat. What should hearten us Doctor Who fans even more is that Moffat also poured water on the idea that any such movie should involve a reboot of the series. No, that's not fair to Moffat - he actually poured water on it, gathered it up with a rusty shovel and fed it through a wood mulcher - describing the notion of rebooting the series for a film as, "That's writing the book on how to destroy a franchise. You don't behave like that with it. Not ever." Which in anyone's books is a pretty comprehensive way of saying that David Yates wasn't even remotely near reality when he made his announcement. What's more telling for me is that Moffat's comments indicate a real respect for his audience. He knows how other Doctor Who movies have been received, how they're been ripped to shreds faster than the Vasta Narada strip flesh from bone by Whovians. Even more so by the fact that Moffat said that in the event of a Doctor Who movie being made, it would use the same Doctor as on TV. For me this is smart thinking, especially as Doctor Who has been making substantial inroads in developing its audience in the United States. To recast the Doctor and reboot the series solely for a film would alienate not only the films international audience, but also the loyal fans in the US too. It would undo years of hard work in promoting the series and building a solid cult following. Of course, the BBC has confirmed that a Doctor Who film, "remains in development by BBC Worldwide Productions in Los Angeles," however that now seems to be nothing more than gauging interest from major studios. Possibly there's the optioning of screenplays, though that's purely speculation on my part. Now if only we could do something about that Inbetweeners remake across the pond...