The Telegraph have reported that plans are in place for Doctor Who to be made into a Hollywood blockbuster within an 8 year timeline outlined by the production team.

Their source comes from leaked Sony emails, published by Wikileaks. It states:

The plans for Doctor Who were put in an email sent in January [2014] from Andrea Wong, president of International Production for Sony, to the company’s chief executive Michael Lynton. The email says: “[Danny Cohen, the Director of BBC Television] said that while there has been tremendous interest (and pressure from [BBC Worldwide]) to do a Dr Who film, the show runners feel very clear that they don’t want to do one at this moment. “That said, over the course of the coming months, the show running team is coming up with an 8 year timeline for the brand – laying out all that will happen with it. “He says that a film will certainly be a part of that timeline. So the answer is that a film won’t happen in the next year to 18 months, but it is expected that it will happen after that within the 8 year horizon.’ Lynton’s response was: “Sounds like we need to meet with the show runners.” A follow up email from Wong reads: “Spoke to Danny and he doesn’t think it makes sense right now and actually might hurt our cause. “He said that the creative team on the show have been having the movie conversation with BBC Worldwide in recent weeks and are very hot under the collar that their position on it is not being listened to or accepted.”

UPDATE: Steven Moffat responds: “You can’t make a movie that damages the TV series,” he told RadioTimes. “That’s the only thing I’d say about it. I’m very happy for there to be a movie, very happy [for there] to be a theatre show – anything you like – but the TV show is incredibly important and must not be hurt. Everybody knows that.”

Asked whether he would like to see the film eventually happen, Moffat replied: “If someone can work out how [a movie] actually works, I’ve got nothing against it, but no one’s ever been very clear about how it actually works. It’s not really got that far and it’s not my job. I can neither action it nor stop it.

“We haven’t really, to be honest, got an answer to it. All this story is nothing – there’s not been a story for years. I’m sure there’s money to be made out of it but that’s not the point, is it? We are British, the BBC. We are there for the art.”