‘Doctor Who': Matt Smith Successor Schedule Announced, Plus 50th Anniversary Preview!

For weeks, months even, 'Doctor Who' fans have waited on bated breath for news of Matt Smith's inevitable replacement, around which rumors of both actors and announcement dates have repeatedly swirled. Now, series showrunner Steven Moffat has announced his plans for the big reveal, and previewed the upcoming 50th Anniversary special as well!

Moffat told Entertainment Weekly that the actual announcement of Matt Smith's successor would come within only days of their ultimate decision, saying, "it’s very, very hard to keep any kind of a secret. The last time, when we chose Matt, we had to hold over on that one, because there was a Christmas 'Doctor Who' special called “The Next Doctor,” for which Russell [T. Davies] was playing the game of pretending it was going to be David Morrissey. So we couldn’t deflate that. But I think we’ll go public pretty fast."

The current 'Who' and 'Sherlock' showrunner also clarified that three seasons, the 50th anniversary and Christmas specials had mostly always been the plan for Matt Smith's tenure, though Moffat would have been happy to allow Smith to remain if he so chose. Naturally, Moffat wouldn't offer any details of Smith's ultimate replacement, whether they'd narrowed a gender or any other specifics.

As for the 50th Anniversary, Moffat joked that they'd have to own up to anything shot in public view, but that the rest would remain under wraps as long as possible. The current running time stands at a "movie-length" well above an hour, while Moffat also offered insight into the pairing of Matt Smith's 11th Doctor with David Tennant's 10th.

Well, when you’re talking to yourself, there’s no filter! You don’t spare yourself! They’re quite a fun pairing, I would say. There’s a bit of the normal joshing of each other but they’re both such enthusiastic Doctors. While they might be sort of competing slightly, they’re both standing there saying, “Oh god, it’s so cool, there’s two of me!” So, it’s very different. I think the other one that worked brilliantly was Jon Pertwee and Patrick Troughton. They were incredibly funny together. This is very different from that but it’s a sublime double act.

Finally, the first photo of 'Game of Thrones' star David Bradley in character as original 'Doctor Who' star William Hartnell has hit the net, which we've included below. Even more 'Doctor Who' details will arrive from Comic-Con 2013 next week, so stay tuned for the latest and give us your predictions in the comments!