Who News: Paris ComicCon Reveals New Details

Not long now until the definitive Series Seven trailer arrives, but before then, a few new details for the future...
Next week sees the Doctor Who ComicCon panel kick things off news-wise for good over in Los Angeles, yet for now we've at least had some interesting news on Series Seven and the future for the programme revealed via the European ComicCon in Paris. Executive producer Caroline Skinner, soundtrack composer Murray Gold, script writer Chris Chibnall and director Toby Haynes all appeared at the European panel with some exciting snippets of gossip to take away before the really thrilling bits of news arrive in seven days' time...

• NEW THEME TUNE TEASED: What with the unveiling of the new logo for Doctor Who Series Seven (head over to the official website to see it), rumours are abound about the possibility of a new arrangement for the theme tune to go with it this time around. When quizzed on whether this was to be the case, Murray Gold merely said "Perhaps..."! Maybe we'll get a slightly different take on the Series Five/Six tune as Gold did back in Series Four after the first three seasons since the show's 2005 return had the same arrangement. Only a few weeks until we find out for sure, of course!
• EPISODE 4 DETAILS: Caroline Skinner said that Chris' Episode 4- reportedly titled Cubed, and rumoured to feature UNIT, the Ood, mysterious cubes and life-threatening danger for the Doctor- is very focused on Amy and Rory as their penultimate episode, and would have made a "brilliant movie"!
• EPISODE 5 DETAILS: Caroline also called the finale to Doctor Who Series Seven Part One, which will see the return of the Weeping Angels and the departure of the Ponds, a "terrifying" adventure to wrap up on.
• CONFIDENTIAL STATUS UPDATED: She also sadly confirmed that "we have seen the end of Doctor Who Confidential on BBC3." What this may imply is that Confidential will return in an online format for the second half of Series Seven, or perhaps even that some footage has been recorded to cover the behind-the-scenes side for the DVD and Blu-Ray of the seventh season. We'll have to wait and see- only time will tell...
• 2013 EVENTS TEASED: We know for sure that once the eight remaining episodes of Series Seven have aired in the early months of 2013, there'll be a bit of a wait until either the 50th Anniversary Specials or a full-blown celebratory first half of Series Eight hit our screens. We're sure to get loads of landmark events to make next year special, though, and bridge the gap, and Murray Gold was happy to confirm that there will be new worldwide concerts of Who as part of the festivities. Keep an eye on the next few Who News posts for more details on the 2013 proceedings, and it seems likely we'll find out more soon!
• GATISS CONFIRMED FOR DUAL RETURN: Skinner later went on to confirm that Mark Gatiss (pictured above) will indeed pen two episodes of Series Seven Part Two as had been rumoured from recent filming schedules. One of these will feature Dame Diana Rigg and her daughter Rachael Stirling, and judging by what has been seen on filming it seems that Madame Vastra, Jenny and Commander Strax will all be back after their A Good Man Goes To War battles in one of the two Gatiss stories!

Now that we know for sure that Mark Gatiss will pen two of the stories of Series Seven Part Two, we've now got a pretty comprehensive guide to the shape the new season will take in terms of writers. Here's the rough layout:
ASYLUM OF THE DALEKS- STEVEN MOFFAT
DINOSAURS ON A SPACESHIP- CHRIS CHIBNALL
THE GUNSLINGER- TOBY WHITHOUSE
CUBED- CHRIS CHIBNALL
EPISODE 5- STEVEN MOFFAT
EPISODE 6 (CHRISTMAS SPECIAL)- STEVEN MOFFAT
EPISODE 7- MARK GATISS
EPISODE 8- TBC
EPISODE 9- TBC
EPISODE 10- TBC
EPISODE 11- NEIL CROSS
EPISODE 12- MARK GATISS
EPISODE 13- TBC
EPISODE 14- STEVEN MOFFAT
There are still a few more writers to be confirmed for the final eight episodes, then, but to be fair it seems quite likely there'll be returns from Tom McRae and Toby Whithouse at the very least here too, and possibly a celebrity writer along the lines of Richard Curtis or Neil Gaiman given their recent successes on the show. What with Toby Haynes (director of the Pandorica Series Five finale, A Christmas Carol and the America Series Six two-part opener) having appeared at the Paris panel and no confirmation of his return yet, don't be surprised if he's back for more directorial action in the season's second half too! Doctor Who returns on August 25th on BBC1.