‘Doctor Who' Star Says 'Doctor Woke' Criticism Means Series Is Simply Spreading Kindness
Varada Sethu, the new star of Doctor Who, has defended the BBC and Disney+ series against claims it has gone 'woke.'
In an interview with the Radio Times, the new companion to Ncuti Gatwa's Time Lord said that the 'woke' barb means the drama is simply doing the right thing in being inclusive.
More from Deadline
BBC & ITV Fail To Negotiate AI Safeguards In New Contracts With Actors Union Equity But Broadcasters Say Provisions "Remain Firmly On The Table"
YouTube's Revenue Will Top Disney's This Year As It Becomes "The Home For All Things Video", Analyst Says
'Snow White', Poisoned By Controversy At Box Office, Won't Have A Happy Ending With $115M Loss: What Went Wrong
'There's been a couple of Doctor Woke [references] or whatever, but I just think we're doing the right thing if we're getting comments like that,' Sethu said.
'Woke just means inclusive, progressive and that you care about people. And, as far as I know, the core of Doctor Who is kindness, love and doing the right thing.'
Sethu and Gatwa's pairing means that two people of color will pilot the Tardis for the first time in Doctor Who's history. 'Ncuti was like, 'Look at us. We get to be in the Tardis. We're going to piss off so many people',' she said.
'We really are equals in the way that we interact with each other. Russell [T Davies] wanted someone who can push back and not be in awe of this all-powerful being.'
Season 15 of Doctor Who will premiere on the BBC and Disney on April 12 amid uncertainty over the futures of both Gatwa and showrunner Davies.
It is also unclear if Disney will continue to co-produce Doctor Who beyond 2025. The Mouse House's commitment is critical to budgets, storylines, and casting, meaning its withdrawal could mean major changes to the show. Doctor Who fans will likely have to wait until at least 2027 before a follow-up to this year's season.
Best of Deadline
Everything We Know About 'Black Mirror' Season 7 So Far
How Jon Gries' Return To 'The White Lotus' Could Shape Season 3
'Severance' Cast Through Seasons 1 & 2: Innies, Outies, Severed And Unsevered
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
San Francisco Chronicle
an hour ago
- San Francisco Chronicle
‘How to Train Your Dragon' is the best live-action adaptation ever, but some parents may hate it
Now this is how you make a live-action adaptation of a beloved animated classic. While Disney's live-action remakes of films from its animated library have been a mixed bag, DreamWorks' reimagining of its 2010 'How to Train Your Dragon' is the first that actually might be better than the original. Directed by Dean DeBlois, the filmmaker behind not only all three 'Dragon' animated films but also the original ' Lilo & Stitch ' (2002), the new version excels because it makes its teenage protagonist deeper and more mature — and its monsters extra frightening. In fact, this 'How to Train Your Dragon,' while rated PG feels like PG-13 and might be too scary for some children, even those who love the original animated feature. These CGI dragons are truly terrifying. But with 'Jurassic World Rebirth' arriving in theaters soon, that's the cinematic world we live in. The story remains mostly unchanged. Hiccup (Mason Thames, star of ' The Black Phone '), the sensitive, peace-loving son of the fierce Viking king Stoick the Vast (Gerard Butler, who voiced the same character in the animated films), struggles to find his place in Berk, the seaside mountain village that is under constant threat from dragon attacks. Stoick, disappointed in Hiccup, hopes to toughen the kid up by enrolling him in dragon-fighting school. Among his classmates is his school crush Astrid (Nico Parker) and the jocular Fishlegs (Julian Dennison, seen earlier this year in ' Y2K ' and the star of 2016's ' Hunt for the Wilderpeople '). Hiccup's desire to kill dragons takes a serious hit when he meets Toothless, a small dragon caught in a trap in a wooded area. Instead of killing the dragon, Hiccup frees him, then makes daily visits to understand the creature. The movie doesn't succeed unless the dragons are good, and the team behind this 'How to Train Your Dragon' hit the mark. The CGI work and DeBlois' swooping, dizzying camera work — this is the director's first live-action film — during the battles are top notch. While the story is predictable even to those who haven't seen the original, the strength of this remake is its thematic plea for cultural understanding and the art of diplomacy. For generations, it's been dragons against humans, but why are dragons attacking? The Viking king is right to strengthen his village's defenses, and to train his subjects in the art of war. But is war the only solution or is there another way? As Hiccup, the 17-year-old Mason is sensitive and appealing, a young boy who goes from dazed and confused to meeting the moment — and teaching dad a thing or two. Butler brings some touching moments to the proud king's gradual understanding of his son.
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
Anime-Inspired ‘Miraculous' Spinoff ‘Miraculous Stellar Force' Acquired by Disney With a 2025 Special and 2027 Series Launch Planned (EXCLUSIVE)
Disney Branded Television has officially acquired 'Miraculous Stellar Force,' from Miraculous Corp, a joint venture between Mediawan and ZAG, marking a major expansion of the globally popular 'Miraculous' franchise. Announced just ahead of the Annecy International Animated Film Festival, the new series is scheduled to premiere in 2027 on Disney Channel and Disney+. 'Miraculous Stellar Force' will be the franchise's first original spin-off and promises a fresh, dynamic experience that blends high-stakes action, kung fu comedy and heartwarming storytelling, all in a hand-drawn 2D format inspired by Japanese anime. Created by Thomas Astruc, the original creator of 'Miraculous – Tales of Ladybug and Cat Noir,' the new series swaps Paris for Tokyo, introducing fans to an entirely new team of culturally diverse young superheroes. More from Variety 'Spidey and his Amazing Friends,' 'Dragon Striker' and 'Sam Witch' Headline Disney Branded TV's Annecy Slate (EXCLUSIVE) 'Olivia & the Clouds' Director Tomás Pichardo Espaillat on the Wild Collaborative Animation Process of His Annecy Player: 'It Was Chaotic and Crazy' Brazil's 'Nimuendajú' Makes Annecy Debut As Director Tania Anaya Underlines Ongoing Fight for Indigenous Peoples' Freedom Set at an international school in the Japanese capital, 'Miraculous Stellar Force' follows 12 students who discover they are guardians of the Stellar Matrix, a fractured ancient cosmic weapon. Under the leadership of Miki, Mayotte and Yu Lu, these heroes must overcome personal differences and chaotic friendships to face formidable galactic villains such as the revenge-driven Modeler and the ominous force known as The Supreme. Ahead of the full series release, fans will get their first taste of the new universe with the premiere of 'Miraculous World: Tokyo Stellar Force' later this year. This one-hour special event spans Paris and Tokyo, and features beloved characters Marinette and Kagami as they help unite a new generation of Tokyo-based heroes. 'With 'Stellar Force,' we're expanding the 'Miraculous' universe in bold and exciting directions, with a completely new team, setting and mythology, while staying true to the values that made 'Miraculous' a global phenomenon,' said Andy Yeatman, CEO of Miraculous Corp. USA and Global Operations. 'Kids around the world will see themselves reflected in these diverse, relatable heroes navigating friendship, identity and teamwork amidst epic cosmic stakes. With its blend of action and comedy and unforgettable characters, 'Stellar Force' is a fresh take on what it means to be a hero and perfectly positioned to become an instant classic.' Heath Kenny, chief content officer at Miraculous Corp, added, 'With its dynamic mix of thrilling action, martial arts, heartfelt character arcs, comedy and stunning views of Tokyo, 'Miraculous Stellar Force' reinvents the anime superhero genre with style and substance. As the friendship between the teens grows, so does their strength as a team, a powerful reminder that true strength comes not just from power, but from the bonds we build along the way.' This latest addition marks a new chapter for the 'Miraculous' brand, which celebrates its 10th anniversary this year and continues to captivate audiences worldwide with its award-winning content, now spanning television, film, digital media, merchandise and more. Best of Variety 25 Hollywood Legends Who Deserve an Honorary Oscar New Movies Out Now in Theaters: What to See This Week Emmy Predictions: Animated Program — Can Netflix Score Big With 'Arcane,' 'Devil May Cry' and the Final Season of 'Big Mouth?'
Buzz Feed
5 hours ago
- Buzz Feed
Best Mary Poppins Behind The Scenes Facts
First, Walt Disney started going after the rights to adapt P.L. Travers' Mary Poppins in 1938, four years after the first book was published. However, Travers repeatedly refused to give over the rights. Over the next several years, Disney continued to send offer after offer to Travers in an attempt to adapt the book. In 1959 — 21 years after starting the pursuit — Travers finally agreed to have Mary Poppins adapted by Disney, but she would have "final say" on the script. According to the documentary, Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious: The Making of Mary Poppins, Disney personally flew to London in 1959 and met with Travers to once again try to convince her to let him adapt Mary Poppins. Speaking of the meeting, Travers reportedly said that talking to Disney was "like talking to a friendly, charming uncle who took from his pocket a gold pocketwatch and dangled it enticingly before your eyes." After working on adapting the book for two years, P.L. Travers came to Disney Studios and apparently "didn't like anything" that was written. In recordings and sketches from a 1961 meeting, Travers said, "The book should be read very carefully for accuracy." Some of the things she had a problem with were that Mary should "never be impolite to anybody," and she didn't like that the parents would start out harsh and not pay attention to their children so they could eventually have a "change of heart." In the documentary, Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious: The Making of Mary Poppins, composer Richard Sherman said the "key to the story" was the parents being so preoccupied with their own lives that there was a "need" for Mary Poppins to come, so it was essential that they start a little cold, especially the Travers signed off on the project and was billed as a consultant on the film. Mary Martin, Bette Davis, and Angela Lansbury were all considered for the role of Mary Poppins before Julie Andrews. When Disney did a sequel to the film in 2018, titled Mary Poppins Returns, Lansbury actually appeared as a woman selling balloons in the park. At the time, Martin was best known for her work on stage in South Pacific, Peter Pan, and The Sound of Music. Meanwhile, Davis was fresh off her renowned work in Now, Voyager and All About Eve, and Lansbury had just starred in The Picture of Dorian Gray. Julie Andrews caught the attention of the Sherman brothers and Walt Disney after they saw her in Camelot. After Andrews and Richard Burton performed "What Do The Simple Folk Do?" on The Ed Sullivan Show, Disney flew to NYC to see Camelot on Broadway. In an interview at the Mary Poppins premiere, Disney said, "I went backstage and I tried to convince her that I was capable of making a picture with live actors as well as cartoons. I didn't know what she thought of me." In an interview from 1973, Andrews recalled that Disney "started acting out the whole of the script of Mary Poppins" while visiting her backstage at Camelot. Then, Disney invited Andrews and her then-husband, Tony Walton, to Los Angeles to see the storyboards for the film. Walton, who was a costume and set designer, ultimately ended up working on Mary Poppins, too. Initially, it was unclear if Julie Andrews would be able to star in Mary Poppins because she was the logical choice to star in My Fair Lady, after she played Eliza Doolittle on the West End and Broadway. However, Jack Warner ultimately cast Audrey Hepburn, citing that they needed "a name" to carry the film. Ultimately, Andrews and Hepburn were pitted against each other all awards season, with Andrews winning both the Golden Globe and Oscar for Mary Poppins, and she even thanked Warner in her Golden Globes acceptance speech. In her speech, Andrews said, "Finally, my thanks to a man who made a wonderful movie and who made all of this possible in the first Jack Warner."Looking back on her career with the Hollywood Reporter in 2015, Andrews said the one thing she wished she had was a recorded version of her My Fair Lady to show her grandchildren. She also said that while she understood the decision, getting passed over for the film only reinforced the idea she had in her head that she wasn't "pretty enough" for movies. Dick Van Dyke "begged" Walt Disney to let him play Mr. Dawes Sr., according to Julie Andrews in her memoir Home Work. Van Dyke wanted the role of Dawes Sr. so badly that he reportedly offered to play it for free. Andrew wrote in her memoir, "[Disney] took Dick up on that offer, and also persuaded him to make a $4,000 donation to the California Institute of the Arts, which Walt had recently cofounded." Disney made Van Dyke screentest for the role, too, as a little joke. According to Andrews, "Word flew around the Studios that he had been hilarious, totally persuasive and completely unrecognizable." Dick Van Dyke calls his accent for Bert the "worst Cockney accent [he's] ever done." While filming Mary Poppins, he asked J. Pat O'Malley, an Irish actor who voiced some of the animated characters in the film, to help him with his accent. Van Dyke joked in 2012 that he "made up a story" that it wasn't a Cockney accent, but rather an accent from "a little obscure county in the north of England." He also said that to this day, British people will come up to him and tell him what a horrible accent he does as Bert in Mary Poppins. Artist Peter Ellenshaw hand-painted 100 matte paintings for the backdrops that are seen in Mary Poppins. For the cityscape of London at dusk, Ellenshaw purposefully put little holes in the painting so that lights could shine through the back to make it look like the lights in the city. He said, "The lights would all come on gradually all over the city, or appear to." He previously worked with Disney on Treasure Island and 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea. The first scene they filmed for Mary Poppins was the "Jolly Holiday" sequence, which means it was also the first thing Julie Andrews ever shot for a film in her career. In her memoir, Andrews recalled, "My first filmed scene simply required that I strike a pose, hands on my umbrella, while Bert said, 'You look very pretty today, Mary Poppins!' I then had to walk past him and say, 'Do you really think so?' I was extremely nervous and fretted over how to say that one simple line. I had no idea what my voice would sound like or how to appear natural on film." Bert and Mary walking arm-in-arm during "Jolly Holiday" was also one of the first pieces of choreography Andrews and Dick Van Dyke learned during rehearsals. Andrews said in her memoir, "I performed Mary Poppins's demure, ladylike version of the step — but Dick flung his long legs up so high that I burst out laughing. To this day, he can still execute that step." Over the course of the development of Mary Poppins, the Sherman brothers wrote around 32 songs, with only 14 making the final version of the movie. When they started working on the songs, there wasn't a script yet, so instead they worked off of P.L. Travers' book and used chapters to figure out what a song could be. Walt Disney's favorite song was "Feed The Birds." In one of the stories in the book, Mary Poppins spins a compass, and the Sherman brothers actually wrote songs for each of the places the compass lands on, like "North Pole Polka," "The Land of Sand," and melody for "The Land of Sand" was later used in The Jungle Book for "Trust In Me." Since Mary Poppins flies a lot, most of her costumes had to be duplicated in a larger size to accommodate the harness Julie Andrews had to wear. In her memoir, Andrews revealed, "This was a thick elastic body stocking, which started at my knees and ended above my waist. The flying wires passed through holes in the costume and were attached to steel panels on either hip." She continued, writing, "I literally did a lot of 'hanging around' between takes, and when I was suspended, the steel panels pressed on my hip bones, which became very bruised. Sheepskin was added, which helped, although it was barely enough, since I couldn't look too bulky." Since the penguins, fox, and more animated characters weren't actually on stage with the actors, cardboard cutouts were used in between takes so the actors would know where they should look and have the proper sightline before the cutouts were taken away to film the scene. The merry go round horses were the only things on set most of the time. In her memoir, Home Work, Julie Andrews recalled, "For the tea party under the willows with the penguin waiters, a cardboard penguin was placed on the table in front of me. Once I'd established the sightline, the penguin was taken away, and when cameras rolled, I had to pretend it was still there." In order to add in the penguins that Bert dances with during "Jolly Holiday," it was just Dick Van Dyke alone on the stage, and the animators then had to figure out how to add in the penguins after the footage was shot. Frank Thomas was the lead animator on the penguins. He previously worked on countless Disney animated movies like Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, Bambi, Cinderella, and more. "When I get over on the stage, I'd say, 'Where am I going to put my penguins?'," Thomas recalled in the documentary, Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious: The Making of Mary Poppins. He continued, saying, "Because I would get the film of Dick actually doing the dance, here's hit feet flying all around and stepping on my penguins. How are you going to know ahead of time where he's going to be and where Dick Van Dyke's going to be? So I was losing more penguins every day. I had them duck, and I had them jump, and I had them get out of the way anyway they could." The entire "Jolly Holiday" and "Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious" scenes were created using the sodium vapor process. Instead of having the actors on a blue or green screen, which is common today, the actors were filmed against a white screen that was lit with yellow-hued sodium vapor lights. This process made it easier to isolate Julie Andrews, Dick Van Dyke, and the other actors from the background so the animators could animate both behind and next to them. Since they didn't film the scene against a blue backdrop, it also didn't put a limit on the colors that could be used in costumes, like Bert's blue bowtie and socks. Since "Step In Time" was such a demanding musical number, it was one of the few that required an extensive rehearsals. Dick Van Dyke revealed that it was a six week rehearsal process because it was "so complicated." He added, "It was amazing, the six weeks of rehearsal kind of got me into shape, and once we started shooting, I was ready." Van Dyke wasn't a trained dancer prior to Mary Poppins. Van Dyke told Conan O'Brien in 2012 that he asked Gower Champion, who was the chroegpraher for Bye By Birdie, which he starred in on Broadway and in the film, to help him learn to dance. He's loved dancing ever since. Mary's magic carpet bag was created by combining footage of Julie Andrews on a soundstage getting fed items up through the bag by a crew member hiding below the table, and footage of Karen Dotrice and Matthew Garber reacting to a clear table as Jane and Michael. Dotrice recalled, "We didn't know she was going to pull all of this stuff out of it! We were told to react to what she was taking out of the carpet bag. All of the things she pulled out of that carpet bag were a complete shock." She added, "Our reactions were completely genuine ... It was very exciting." In order to film the moment when Mary, Bert, Jane, and Michael climb the staircase made out of smoke, the crew created what was called "the black sponge stairs." On set, it was a seemingly ordinary staircase, but the stair treads were made of a sponge-like material so the actors' feet would slightly sink in, as if they were walking on the smoke. In a documentary, Karen Dotrice recalled filming the moment, saying, "I don't know how many takes it took to walk up that smoke staircase because we're following Julie holding broomsticks, walking up this smoke screen staircase, but it was like sinking." For the tea party with Uncle Albert, played by Ed Wynn, the sets were recreated a few different ways to help film the moment when everyone is floating and spinning in the air while laughing. The set was tilted 90 degrees in various directions, so the roof would be in a different spot, even with the ceiling being upside down at one point. Depending on the camera angle, the actors were either suspended on wires or sitting on a seesaw on top of a ladder, if it was a close-up. In the documentary, Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious: The Making of Mary Poppins, Tony Walton recalled, "Walt [Disney] himself came up with the technical approach to achieve the fact that they are laughing, [and] they are all floating about in the air." "Practically Perfect" was a song that was initially going to introduce Mary Poppins; however, it was cut from the film. Instead, the melody was repurposed into "Sister Suffragette," which Mrs. Banks sings. When Glynis Johns was brought in to play Mrs. Banks, she actually requested she have her own musical number, which is how "Sister Suffragette" was born. In a documentary about Mary Poppins, Johns revealed, "I said to Walt [Disney], it might give me incentive, if I could have my own little number." Richard Sherman said that after that, Disney leaned over to her and said they just finished a number for Mrs. Banks, and she'll love it. At the time, Richard and Robert hadn't even written the musical number yet. "The Chimpanzoo" was a song that was originally going to follow "I Love to Laugh" and was going to be sung by Julie Andrews while Mary, Bert, and the children were floating in the air at Uncle Albert's. The whole scene was developed but the number was scrapped the day recording on the song was going to take place. Richard Sherman revealed that Walt Disney felt the sequence wasn't necessary, and instead, after "I Love to Laugh," they all joke while drinking tea and then float down to the floor. And finally, costume designer Tony Walton hid little Easter eggs and details into the lining of Mary Poppins' outfits. In an interview with Vanity Fair in 2022, Julie Andrews revealed, "He said, 'You know, you're very prim and proper on the outside, but I think Mary Poppins has a kind of secret life, maybe, and I'm gonna give her, when you open your coat or when you turn and dance, you'll see marvelously-colored petticoats and wonderful linings of your clothes.'" Andrews said Walton's approach to the costumes helped her discover who Mary really was. She told Vanity Fair, "He said, 'Because I think that's what gives her pleasure. Very formal on the outside and a little bit wicked on the inside, so to speak.' And it completely gave me a clue as to her character. Big, big help for me." Is there another Mary Poppins behind-the-scenes fact that you love that isn't mentioned above? Tell us about it in the comments below!
