The project comes from the team behind The Zone of Interest and Sherwood.
While all eyes are primed for May and the brand new season of Doctor Who with Ncuti Gatwa at its helm, it seems as though the much talked-about actor and new Time Lord will also be part of another exciting upcoming thriller.
Speaking to Deadline, House Productions co-CEOs Juliette Howell and Tessa Ross spoke about their company’s projects, which include The Iron Claw, a second season of BBC’s Sherwood and the Oscar-nominated film The Zone of Interest.
As for new ventures, the pair shared that Gatwa will star in a project inspired by novelist Patricia Highsmith’s Strangers on a Train.
Of course, the book has been adapted already, by Alfred Hitchcock in 1951, as what is now widely recognised as a standout psychological thriller.
Unlike the book and the film, the new TV series will be set in Sitges, Spain, and is currently in its development stages – with a script that is currently being taken out.
Other details about the show remain under wraps for now, but if you’ve watched the film or read the novel, you’ll know that Strangers on a Train is a thriller packed full of twists as it follows two passengers who meet on a train – but one of them is a psychopath who puts forward the idea of killing two other people so that they can both evade capture by the police.
Before we learn how much the new TV series will lean on the original material and in what role Gatwa will feature, fans of the 31-year-old can enjoy his appearances in Apple TV+’s Masters of the Air and, of course, in the long-awaited 14th season of Doctor Who.
Gatwa has already appeared in the long-running sci-fi series in both the final 60th anniversary episode alongside the returning David Tennant, and also in the Christmas 2023 episode with new companion Ruby Sunday (played by Millie Gibson).
The 14th season will see Gatwa’s Doctor and Ruby tackle their fair share of adventures and villains, with previous Doctor Matt Smith offering his resounding support for Gatwa as the next Time Lord.
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He told the BBC’s Today programme: “I dropped him a line and said ‘well done’. I always keep my eye on Doctor Who. I think [Ncuti’s] great for it, he’s totally made for it.”
Similarly, speaking about Gatwa’s casting in Doctor Who, former showrunner Steven Moffat said: “Well, I think Ncuti is going to be [an] amazing Doctor, he’s going to be different.
“But I’ve already seen this, I think we all have in The Giggle, that he’s got all the command and all the presence of a classic Doctor, plus a whole funky new thing that’s going on. And that’s what we need.”
Doctor Who will return in May 2024. Doctor Who is available to watch on BBC iPlayer and on BritBox – you can sign up for a 7-day free trial here.
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