New ‘Doctor Who’ Trailer Showcases Superheroes, Companions, Brains In Jars [Video]

A new trailer for the Doctor Who 2016 Christmas special “The Return of Doctor Mysterio” dropped recently on the official BBC social media accounts. The 30-second teaser for the episode, airing Christmas Day, highlights the heroics of the caped crusader known only as “The Ghost,” portrayed by Justin Chatwin. The trailer also shows Matt Lucas’s return to Doctor Who as Nardole; Nardole joins the TARDIS crew in the upcoming tenth season alongside Pearl Mackie as Bill.

“The Return of Doctor Mysterio” was written by Steven Moffat and directed by Ed Bazalgette. Here’s the official episode summary from the BBC.

“The Doctor joins forces with a masked superhero for an epic New York adventure. With brain-swapping aliens poised to attack, the Doctor and Nardole link up with an investigative reporter and a mysterious figure known only as the Ghost. Can the Doctor save Manhattan?”

The episode is an homage to comic book superheroes, though the brains-in-jars moment recalls a different pop culture cornerstone: Futurama famously included preserved heads of famous celebrities in liquid-filled jars, as well as an episode in which an army of brains attacks Earth, leeching every sentient species of intelligent thought.

The genre mashup is perfect for Doctor Who, a show that has, among other things, placed Queen Nefertiti and dinosaurs on a spaceship together and set a minotaur loose on a gaudy 1980s hotel.

What superpower would Justin Chatwin aka The Ghost have if he could choose? And what superpower would you have? #DoctorWhopic.twitter.com/9bCWDal4Fr

— Doctor Who BBCA (@DoctorWho_BBCA) December 11, 2016

In addition to the trailer, the Doctor Who Youtube page also posted a three-minute preview of “The Return of Doctor Mysterio.”

The preview shows the Doctor meeting Lucy Fletcher, who is built in the mold of Lois Lane—an intrepid reporter who gets caught up in the intrigues of the superhero. The two of them, joined by Nardole, get held at gunpoint, then rescued by The Ghost, who swoops in through a window to save the day.

“The Return of Doctor Mysterio” arrives after a year without new Doctor Who episodes—the last new episode was last Christmas’s “The Husbands of River Song,” which seemed to close the book on the Doctor and his time-traveling wife—and amidst questions of whether Peter Capaldi will stay on when Steven Moffat departs the show after Season 10.

The 58-year-old Capaldi recently sat down with the Sun to talk about the pressures of playing a beloved character like the Doctor.

“Some people do get very excited when they meet you and I feel vaguely confused by that because I don’t think I’m very exciting – I get into a panic because I think I mustn’t disappoint them,” he says.

Capaldi also previews “The Return of Doctor Mysterio” and lays some “alien” praise on co-star Matt Lucas.

He says, “In a lot of his comic work, he has a very distinctive look about him, but in Doctor Who he genuinely looks like a creature from another planet, with his pale, sweet face and clear eyes. Together we sort of look like a pair of strange alien creatures, which is nice.”

Capaldi then reveals he has recovered from the knee injury he sustained while filming for Doctor Who Season 9. In a bizarre coincidence, it’s the exact same knee injury previous Doctor Who lead Matt Smith sustained.

Speaking to Radio Times, Capaldi says, “The doctor [a real, medical doctor] gave me this list of things I couldn’t do: ‘Crouch, jump or run’. I said, ‘Well. I have to do those things – I’m Doctor Who!’ It’s basically the job description.”

While the wait for new Doctor Who continues, the animated reconstruction of “The Power of the Daleks”—the classic Doctor Who serial that introduced Patrick Troughton as the Second Doctor—is still currently airing on BBC America.

Not enough Ben and Polly in your life? Get caught up on #PowerOfTheDaleks in color at https://t.co/XqQKPMvvdz and the @BBCAMERICA app. pic.twitter.com/C4jg49yH18

— Doctor Who BBCA (@DoctorWho_BBCA) December 6, 2016

Are you excited for Doctor Who to return?

[Featured Image by BBC]