We almost got a third Peter Cushing Dr Who movie… and it sounds like it could have been great

If you’re reading this – or on our site in general – you likely know that in the 1960s Doctor Who had two big screen adventures starring Grand Moff Tarkin himself, Peter Cushing.

And, as someone who watched them both in a cinema just a few weeks ago, I can confirm that they are a massive amount to silly fun and pure products of their time; both are out now on 4k Ultra HD for those of you who want to see them at  home – they’re well worth it.

The two movies, Dr Who and the Daleks and Daleks – Invasion Earth: 2150 AD, were not canon to the series and were, in fact, adaptations of stories that took place in the Hartnell years. Cushing’s Doctor, unlike the main character, was a human called, em, Dr Who who created a time machine, the TARDIS, in his back garden.

However, it has recently been revealed by Sergei Subotsky, son of the original films’ writer Milton Subotsky, that a third movie almost happened and it sounds like it would have been a multi-Doctor story… which would have been very cool.

“People have often asked about the third movie,” said Subotsky, “the first agreement was for two films.

“As long as [the first movie] was made within a year, then the second option could be exercised… the rights to make the second movie.”

Since a second movie was indeed made, Subotsky continues: “There was a further agreement that was entered into, to give the rights to make a third movie, which of course was never done,” he explained. “It was on the same terms as the original films, so my feeling is… the option lapsed.”

But what would the movie have been had it happened? Well, it seems that his father had, indeed, written a story for the third entry despite it not going ahead.

“Many years later, maybe 15 years later, it was clearly still on [my father’s] mind, because he had prepared a script called ‘Doctor Who’s Greatest Adventure’ which actually was a repurposed script of a horror film entitled ‘King Crab’… the original title was even worse, it was ‘Night of the Crabs’!

“It was with two Doctors – a young Doctor and an old Doctor – which is an idea that has been returned to.”

While there’s no way of knowing if, had the third movie happened, Peter Cushing would have returned (as both Doctors, perhaps?), it’s fun to think that that particular time-traveler’s adventures went beyond what we saw on screen.

But could we ever see or, perhaps, hear these adventures? Well, the home of proper Doctor Who content, Big Finish recently put out a Tweet asking if the fans would be interested in seeing the third story adapted and I think I speak for us all when I say ‘yes, absolutely!’.  I like to think that, if Big Finis went to the hassle of tweeting, then perhaps wheels are already in motion, after all, we know that story was written by the man who wrote the first two movies and his son is in possession of  it so, were I Big Finish, I would be talking to him about acquiring the story and getting on bringing it to the fans’ happy ears.

I’ve a funny feeling this is something we’ll see in the future. Or past…

Would you want an audio drama adaptation of the unmade third Dalek movie? https://t.co/GAmJ7kJQnf pic.twitter.com/QYzXBOpy8y

— Big Finish Insider (on vacation) (@bigfinish) June 21, 2022

Source: Radio Times