INQUISITR.COM / Entertainment

New ‘Doctor Who’ Monster May Be An Open Tribute To ‘Bioshock’

By Dustin Wicksell
Published on: 05:04 PST, Apr 25, 2015

Doctor Who‘s highly anticipated ninth season may be months away from airing, but photos of a new monster have been released, and some longtime fans of the iconic sci-fi series are openly wondering whether it may be a nod of the head to another franchise.

Earlier this week, the BBC teased the upcoming season of Doctor Who by revealing a dimly lit picture of the new, metal monster, prefacing it with the question “What’s that in the shadows?,” according to the Radio Times. Fans were quick to employ photoshop in an attempt to get a better look at the monster, and to alleviate their plight, the BBC later released another image that shows the creature, named the Block 3 monster, far more clearly.

The weathered metal creature immediately inspired comparisons among fans to some of the monsters in Bioshock, the highly popular video game series. As Hitfix notes, some Doctor Who fans are even convinced that the Block 3 monster is an intentional tribute to the series, and they point to an Easter egg in the last season as a precedent.

“In broad daylight, s/he looks a Big Daddy prototype from the Bioshock video game series mated with a Yo Gabba Gabba creature. It could be a coincidence. Or it could be another send up to a fellow sci-fi franchise. After all, Garrus Vakarian of Mass Effect showed up last season.”

While it is unclear what episode of the new season the monster will appear in, the second image shows the creature standing next to Ed Bazalgette. As the Radio Times reports, Bazalgette is set to direct the fifth and sixth episodes of Doctor Who‘s ninth season, which are titled The Girl Who Died and The Woman Who Lived. The two-part story arc will feature Maisie Williams, who is best known for her starring role on Game of Thrones.

Two-part episodes, while largely abandoned in Doctor Who‘s eighth season are set to return in a big way this year. As the Inquisitr previously reported, showrunner Steven Moffat has stated in interviews that the ninth season will begin with a two-part story arc, which will see the return of Missy, the current regeneration of the Doctor’s nemesis and friend, the Master.

Fans will have some time to wait before they get to see the Block 3 monster in action, however, as Doctor Who returns for its ninth season this fall on BBC One.

[Image: BBC via Radio Times]

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