Is Matt Smith Planning On Leaving Before Doctor Whos 50th Anniversary?

It may be a mere slip of the tongue, or just a bit of speculation, but the idea of moving on is clearly on his mind

Could we be seeing a new Doctor for the Doctor Who 50th anniversary? Although it’s dangerous to read too much into these things, Doctor Who News has discovered an interview that Matt Smith has done with VH1 during his latest visit to the USA. In it he’s asked about his future plans on that side of the Atlantic.

He replies, “Well, hopefully soon, you know. I’ve got another year of Doctor Who , but then I’m certainly going to come and give it a shot – come and hang out in LA... as you say, people like Andy [Garfield] have come over, and he’s a mate of mine. I’m very proud to see him doing Spider-Man , ’cause we did a play together, and, you know, Spider-Man now. It’s incredible. And he’ll be brilliant, he’ll be so brilliant.”

If you take his comments literally, it would seem he is planning on leaving after the next series of Doctor Who . But since no-one is yet certain whether Doctor Who series seven will be broadcast entirely in 2012, or whether it will be split over 2012 and 2013 (as many are speculating) it’s unclear whether we’d kick off the 50th anniversary year with a new Doctor, or whether a regeneration would form part of the 50th anniversary celebrations.

Who knows, maybe after series seven, Smith’s final run as the Doctor could be in a series of Tennant-style specials for the 50th anniversary and the end of his era in the title role? We’d at least assume, if he does leave beforehand, that he’d be back for the actual anniversary episode(s) in some way.

But clearly, his post-Doctor career is something he’s giving serious thought to at the moment.