Steven Moffat vs. David Yates on Dr. Who movie: Who ya got?

All these "Dr. Who" move rumors are driving us nuts, too, Matt.

Are Steven Moffat and David Yates on Facebook? If so, they need to friend each other and start talking before the "Dr. Who" movie rumors get any more confusing.

The back story (short version): Yates, director of the last four "Harry Potter" movies, has spoken openly about helming a "Dr. Who" feature that he says would have nothing to do with the television series, including a new cast (sorry, Matt Smith) and Hollywood production. As he told Variety:

“Russell T. Davies and then Steven Moffat have done their own transformations, which were fantastic, but we have to put that aside and start from scratch."

Moffat, showrunner for the popular British TV show, responded this week on Twitter by assuring distraught Who fans that, as DR5WHO reported earlier today on this site:

“To clarify: any Doctor Who movie would be made by the BBC team, star the current TV Doctor and certainly NOT be a Hollywood reboot. David Yates, great director, was speaking off the cuff, on a red carpet. You've seen the rubbish I talk when I'm cornered."

Moffat also told The Register:

“There simply are no developed plans for a Doctor Who movie at the moment. [...] If, and when, the movie happens it will need to star television’s Doctor Who – and there’s only ever one of those at a time. And it would need to come out of the same production operation that makes the series. Doctor Who is a vitally important BBC brand with a huge international audience and not even Hollywood can start this one from scratch. So sorry if there’s been any confusion, but on the plus side it has reminded us all what an exciting prospect this could be.”

Story over? No.

Despite what Moffat says, Yates has not been speaking only "off the cuff, on a red carpet" on the subject. True, he did talk to MTV this week (also reported on this site), which seemed to prompt Moffat's latest comments. But Yates also spoke with Variety, as mentioned earlier, and has long made no secret of his desire to bring Dr. Who to the big screen. In fact, he has specifically spoken about working with Jane Tranter, head of BBC Worldwide Productions, which would seem to satisfy one of Moffat's requirements for involvement "by the BBC team."


Yates also spoke to Hero Complex this week about his future projects, including a possible Dr. Who movie writer. According to the site:

Right now, Yates says, the search is on for a screenwriter and a script, although he has also hinted that Kloves (Steve Kloves, who penned seven of the eight "Potter"movies) might be part of the mix moving forward. Considering Kloves was born in central Texas that might cause a bit of turbulence with diehard “Who” fans in Britain who consider the property to be uniquely British.

Where will this story take us? Stay tuned.