'Harry Potter' Director Developing Big-Screen Take on 'Doctor Who'

Doctor Who is heading to the big-screen with the help of Harry Potter director David Yates.

The BBC television series, one of the longest-running in British history, is being developed by Yates as a movie franchise, with a search for writers underway.

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Who centers on an eccentric man known as the Doctor, an alien time lord who travels space and time with the help of a machine called the TARDIS, whose exterior appears to be a small police box but is actually gigantic inside. He regularly teams up with humans to save worlds.

Various actors have played the Doctor over the show's run, with the explanation being that when the character is dying, he can regenerate his body into a new form. The conceit could work wonderfully in a long-running movie franchise a la James Bond or Batman.

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Who ran from 1963 to 1989, then was relaunched into a global franchise in 2005. Stephen Moffatt, a writer on the upcoming The Adventures of Tintin, and David Tennant, who played the Doctor from 2005 to 2010, are among those who have seen their profiles raised due to the new show.

The development of the movie, which would have no connection to the show, is in the very early stages, allowing for Yates to work on other projects, of which there are no shortage. The CAA-repped Yates has helmed four Potter movies – Order the Phoenix, Half-Blood Prince, Deathly Hallows Part 1 and Part 2 . Since the movie series ended, his name has surfaced in connection with several projects. Nothing has stuck so far, as Yates is taking his time choosing his follow-up.

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