We're likely still a few months away from Season 2 of Doctor Who (or "Disney Who" if you prefer). Honestly, we still don't know much about it.
A new teaser released after 2024's Christmas special "Joy to the World" does provide some clues. We know that, following the departure of Ruby Sunday (Millie Gibson), the Doctor will be joined by new companion Belinda Chandra.
Based on the teaser, it doesn't look like Varada Sethu's new character isn't traveling with the Doctor by choice. She asks him to take her home, but he advises that it might have to be "the long way round". This raises a big question: why would it take so long for the Doctor to take Belinda home?
The long way round
Admittedly, the Doctor has struggled to control the TARDIS before. This was especially true in the '60s when he couldn't return his companions Ian and Barbara to 20th-century Earth. In fact, they were only able to find a way home by "borrowing" the Daleks' time machine in "The Chase". And admittedly, the Fifth Doctor did have some difficulty returning poor Tegan Jovanka to Heathrow.
But a key feature of 21st-century Who is that the Doctor can take his companions home easily. Admittedly, he might not always get the right date (as poor Rose found out in "Aliens of London"). But the Doctor could always return companions to their families when they needed to.
So why will Belinda have to take "the long way round"? Has something gone wrong with the TARDIS? Or are there other forces at play? That's one mystery that's already got me intrigued.
Familiar faces
Of course, another key plot point that the teaser reveals is that the Doctor does get back to Earth eventually, based on the very familiar faces of Kate Lethbridge-Stewart (Jemma Redgrave), Shirley Anne Bingham (Ruth Madeley), and of course, Ruby.
Ruby's return isn't too much of a surprise - it was announced a while back that Millie Gibson would appear in Gatwa's second season, although this time, no longer as a regular companion. But it'll be interesting to find out what's changed since she left the Doctor. Showrunner Russell T Davies has brought back companions before, and Ruby's return feels reminiscent of Martha meeting Donna in Series 4.
But these aren't the only familiar faces this season. Interestingly, Varada Sethu has appeared in Doctor Who already - just last year, in fact, in Steven Moffat's episode "Boom". In that episode, she played the soldier Mundy Flynn. It's likely that the Doctor and Ruby will recognize her. But is this just a coincidence, or is something bigger going on?
New worlds, new monsters
Of course, the trailer also shows us glimpses of the weird and wonderful adventures that we can expect. An impressive shot of an alien city and flying saucers stands out, but the absolute highlight of the trailer has to be the giant cartoon character coming out of the theater screen. It honestly looks amazing and suggests a being as powerful as the Toymaker or Maestro could be involved.
So far, Russell T Davies's new era has yet to match the highs of his original run as showrunner. But that didn't prevent Season One of Disney Who from giving us a few good stories ("Boom", "73 Yards" and "Dot and Bubble" was an excellent little run of episodes). I'm hoping that Season 2 takes what worked about Gatwa's first year as the Doctor and builds on it further. For the moment, we'll have to wait and see.