If there's one thing that fans have come to expect from Doctor Who it's that the cast will continue to change as the years go by. The Doctor's companions come and go, and every few years The Doctor himself sheds his current look and (literally) becomes a new person. There's always a lot of speculation about what form The Doctor will take with each upcoming regeneration, since every time The Doctor's form and personality changes. Or does it?

Comments from Doctor Who showrunner Steven Moffat seem to suggest that The Doctor might slip back into an old familiar face once Peter Capaldi leaves the role. Instead of casting a new actor or actress to play The Doctor, the role might revert back to Matt Smith (who played the Eleventh Doctor before Capaldi took over the role).

According to The Mirror, Moffat has hinted that Smith might return to the show after Capaldi exits. Moffat also described Smith's departure from the role three years ago, and how he wasn't able to get the actor to stay; he described it as a tough time, saying "It felt like everything was blowing up around me." Of course, Smith has since expressed regret for leaving the show when he did, and as Moffat put it is “quite open about how much he misses it, and how much he wishes he hadn’t left."

Of course, Moffat's hints at a possible return of Matt Smith doesn't necessarily mean that we'll see the actor waving his Sonic around anytime soon. So far we've never seen The Doctor regenerate into a form that he's used before, though it was hinted in the 50th anniversary special that The Doctor would "revisit a few favorites" in his future. There's also a precedent for familiar faces turning up in the show, as Capaldi himself was on the show previously (albeit as a different character) and had a brief identity crisis at the beginning of his run where he tried to figure out why he had that face.

That doesn't necessarily mean that the show will bring Smith back to replace Capaldi, however. There's a big difference between having The Doctor resemble someone that he's met before and having him slip right in to his previous form again for another run. It would be much more likely to see Smith return as a guest at some point in the new season, giving fans one last multi-Doctor episode before both Moffat and Capaldi leave the show.

If Doctor Who did bring back Smith as a full-time Doctor, the reaction from fans would likely be mixed at best. While Smith definitely has fans, some might see it as the show taking a step backward instead of moving forward with a new actor and seeing what he or she brought to the role. Only time will tell what's really in store for Doctor Who after Capaldi leaves, of course, though we'll likely get a much clearer picture of what's going on next year.

Next: Doctor Who 2016 Christmas Special Features 'Guest Companion'

Doctor Who returns in December with the 2016 Christmas special. Series 10 of the show begins in 2017, though an air date has not been released as yet.

Source: Mirror Online