Doctor Who: Russell T Davies says a Marvel-style shared universe ‘will happen one day’

‘I was in the middle of running an empire,’ said the writer. ‘And my God I did that 10 years too soon’

Russell T Davies has outlined his hopes for a Doctor Who expanded universe, in the style of Marvel’s MCU.

Davies served as showrunner on Doctor Who from 2005 to 2010, also championing two spin-off series, Torchwood and The Sarah Jane Adventures. 

“I was in the middle of running an empire. And my God I did that 10 years too soon, didn’t I?” remarked Davies in an interview with Waitrose Weekend.

“There should be a Doctor Who channel now. You look at those Disney announcements, of all those new Star Wars and Marvel shows, you think 'we should be sitting here announcing The Nyssa Adventures or The Return of Donna Noble, and you should have the 10th and 11th Doctors together in a 10-part series'.”

While there is still a wealth of Doctor Who stories being produced in audio form alongside the core TV series, Davies claimed that an on-screen Marvel-style universe “will happen one day” if Doctor Who could be “shifted up a gear”.

The Marvel Cinematic Universe began in 2008 with Iron Man, but has grown to encompass dozens of past and future films, as well as original TV series on Disney+, such as WandaVision, which started streaming last week. 

Davies’s latest series, It’s a Sin, began yesterday on Channel 4, and has been well-received by viewers and critics alike.

You can read The Independent’s four-star review of the series here.