New Report Alleges Doctor Who Disney Deal Fell Apart After Plans to ‘Marvel-Ize’ the Franchise Failed to Work Out

A new report into the end of Disney’s deal with the BBC for Doctor Who has alleged that part of the reason for its demise was that plans to “Marvel-ize” the franchise failed to work.

This week, the BBC confirmed the future of Doctor Who with a Christmas 2026 special written by Russell T Davies and the promise of a future season. But the announcement came alongside confirmation that the show’s partnership with Disney+ had come to an end after two seasons and upcoming spinoff The War Between the Land and the Sea.

Now, Deadline reports that the Disney deal fell apart due to concerns that Doctor Who failed to break out from its existing fan base and appeal to a mainstream American audience, as well as its big budget, among other things. Deadline said the show’s budget was between £6 million (approx. $8.5 million) and £8 million (approx. $10.5 million) per episode, putting the value of the deal at as much as £168 million (approx. $221 million).

“It was pretty apparent from early on that this wasn’t for the long term,” a former Disney executive told Deadline. “Everyone got the impression that it wasn’t doing what it needed to do [on Disney+] to be sustained.” Another source added: “The writing has been on the wall for ages. There has been a complete lack of enthusiasm over at Disney.”

Disney, BBC Studios, and the BBC declined comment to Deadline.

Doctor Who had been left on hiatus following the departure of Ncuti Gatwa’s Doctor via a reshot ending and its last-minute reveal of Billie Piper in an unexplained role. In the wake of Gatwa’s two-season run on the show, which drew mixed reviews and the show’s lowest ratings since 2005, fans had raised questions over whether showrunner Russell T Davies would continue. We now know he will return for next year’s Christmas special and potentially more. Amid criticism of the series’ writing and story arcs, Doctor Who actor and writer Mark Gatiss recently suggested the show was in need of a rest.

Lindsay Salt, the BBC’s Director of Drama, issued a comment to go alongside this week’s announcement:

“We’d like to thank Disney+ for being terrific global partners and collaborators over the past two seasons, and for the upcoming The War Between the Land and the Sea. The BBC remains fully committed to Doctor Who, which continues to be one of our most loved dramas, and we are delighted that Russell T Davies has agreed to write us another spectacular Christmas special for 2026. We can assure fans, the Doctor is not going anywhere, and we will be announcing plans for the next series in due course which will ensure the TARDIS remains at the heart of the BBC.”

The War Between the Land and the Sea will be released on the BBC iPlayer and BBC One later this year. There’s a brand-new Doctor Who animation series for CBeebies in development, too. The BBC did not announce a streaming partner for the global release of the Doctor Who Christmas 2026 special.

Wesley is Director, News at IGN. Find him on Twitter at @wyp100. You can reach Wesley at [email protected] or confidentially at [email protected].