How fitting that, after making his name as super sleuth Sherlock Holmes, Benedict Cumberbatch is currently rumoured to become the Doctor’s very own Moriarty, The Master. Sources are reporting that the Brit actor will portray the role for next year’s 5oth anniversary of DOCTOR WHO.
It comes as little surprise that the actor is rumoured for the role, as Steven Moffat heads up the writing duties on both DOCTOR WHO and SHERLOCK.
Cumberbatch – who is also playing the (still-unnamed) villian in STAR TREK 2 – will succeed John Simm as The Master, who was last seen battling David Tennant’s version of the Doctor. As fans will know, The Master is also a Time Lord, and as such is able to regenerate just as the Doctor does. He first appeared in 1971’s ‘Terror of the Autons’, played by Roger Delgado, and although he was most prominent during the Jon Pertwee era of DOCTOR WHO has returned numerous times over the years in a variety of guises (even B-movie legend Eric Roberts played him in 1996’s abysmal TV movie version). For some fans, The Master is the Doctor’s greatest nemesis.
Just as John Simm was the perfect foil for Tennant’s chirpy Doctor, Cumberbatch is sure to be the same for the eccentric Matt Smith, who will star in his third season of Doctor Who later this year.
Source: The Express
