Paul McGann’s Eighth Doctor Begins a New Era With New Pathways

Evening News · Thursday 12 November 2026

Paul McGann’s Eighth Doctor starts a new chapter today, as Big Finish releases New Pathways and introduces Natalie Gumede as his new companion. Also tonight: Alex Kingston’s River Song gamebook Stormcage is coming in paperback and to the US, the original 1977 Star Wars heads back to cinemas for its 50th birthday, Bond 26 is reportedly aiming for November 2028, Lionsgate lands Alma Har’el’s Wet, and Warner Bros. reopens the inbox on You’ve Got Mail.

The News That Matters

Paul McGann’s Eighth Doctor meets new companion Chase in Big Finish’s New Pathways, out today

• What’s new: Doctor Who: The Eighth Doctor Adventures: New Pathways is released today, Thursday 12 November, Big Finish announced. Thirty years after his debut in the 1996 TV movie, Paul McGann’s Doctor gains a new companion, Chase Moyo (Natalie Gumede), an out-of-work film and TV gaffer stuck in a call centre job who is somehow connected to the Doctor at different points in his Eighth life
• The stories: Three full-cast episodes: Chase by Alan Ronald, Magic of the Sycorax by Katharine Armitage, which sends the TARDIS to a mining base under siege from the Sycorax, and Blast from the Past by Robert Valentine, set in Burnley in 2096, where the UK has become a dictatorship and Chase meets her own descendants in the resistance
• Who’s in it: Sam Stafford (Vikings: Valhalla) returns as Alfie, a kind-hearted, gym-loving lad from the mid-21st century. The guest cast includes Derek Griffiths, Sara Powell, Nicholas Boulton and Richard Goulding
• Something extra: Buyers can also download The Eighth Doctor: A New Pathway, a 110-minute behind-the-scenes documentary on the Eighth Doctor’s life so far, with contributions from the cast and crew. The second box set, Fear the Reapers, follows in December
• UK availability: Out now from Big Finish as a download (from £19.99) and on collector’s edition CD, limited to 1,500 copies

Gumede, also known for Coronation Street, is no stranger to the TARDIS: she appeared in the 2014 TV episode Last Christmas. It is a busy time for him at Big Finish: he is also with the Paternoster Gang in the Silurian Age, and the label recently confirmed that Short Trips will return every month in 2027.

Alex Kingston’s River Song gamebook Stormcage gets a UK paperback and a US release

• What’s new: Doctor Who: Stormcage: A River Song Adventure comes out in paperback in the UK on Thursday 14 January 2027 from BBC Books (Ebury). In the US, Ten Speed Press publishes it in hardback and as an ebook on Tuesday 9 February 2027, according to Penguin Random House
• The book: You play River. Imprisoned in the Stormcage Containment Facility, she welcomes the chaos when aliens storm the prison to free a dangerous creature, ripping open a Fate Nexus with exits across time and space. Readers choose the path, meeting old enemies, familiar friends and, of course, the Doctor. There are several possible endings
• Who wrote it: Alex Kingston, with Jacqueline Rayner and Steve Cole. It runs to 304 pages
• UK availability: The paperback is out on 14 January 2027. The hardback and ebook have been available in the UK since 12 February 2026

River Song has always belonged to Kingston, and this is a fun way to let readers step into her boots. If you missed the hardback, the paperback arrives just after Christmas. For why the Doctor still matters so much to British audiences, read our feature The Two Pillars of British Entertainment.

The original 1977 Star Wars returns to cinemas for its 50th anniversary, with a making-of documentary on Disney+

• What’s new: Lucasfilm and Disney today set out a year of 50th anniversary plans. A restored version of the original 1977 Star Wars returns to cinemas around the world from Friday 19 February 2027, on thousands of screens
• How you can see it: IMAX 70mm was revealed earlier. Today Lucasfilm added 70mm, 35mm, Digital IMAX, standard digital, 4DX and D-BOX screenings, along with a new poster by Matt Ferguson in homage to the 1977 original. Ticket details will follow
• The documentary: The Hero Awakens, from R.J. Cutler, arrives on Disney+ on 4 May 2027. It tells the story of the making of Star Wars using only archival footage and audio recorded during and around the 1977 shoot
• Also in the anniversary year: Ahsoka season 2 on Disney+ from 20 January, Star Wars Celebration in Los Angeles from 1 to 4 April, and Ryan Gosling in Star Wars: Starfighter in cinemas from 28 May, including IMAX 70mm. LEGO’s seven-piece anniversary collection lands on 1 January, and Hasbro preorders open tomorrow
• UK availability: Disney UK confirms the 1977 film is in UK cinemas from 19 February 2027. The Hero Awakens streams on Disney+ in the UK from 4 May

For anyone who has only ever seen Star Wars on a small screen, this is the one to book. Lucasfilm is bringing back the original 1977 version, restored for the big screen. More from the galaxy: Hayden Christensen is heading to MCM London Comic Con, and five Star Wars films arrived in 3D on Disney+ this week.

Update: Bond 26 is reportedly aiming for November 2028, with Jeff Bezos reviewing the screen tests

• What’s new: Amazon MGM Studios is now targeting a November 2028 release for the next Bond film, with filming to start in spring 2027, the Daily Mail reported, in a story picked up by Film Stories. Amazon MGM Studios has not confirmed any release date
• Inside the screen tests: According to the report, Denis Villeneuve, casting director Nina Gold, producers Amy Pascal and David Heyman, and writer Steven Knight were all at the final tests at Bray Studios. The actors performed scenes from earlier Bond films rather than Knight’s new script, and the footage was flown to Los Angeles for Amazon MGM Studios head Mike Hopkins and Jeff Bezos to watch
• Where casting stands: No new 007 has been announced. Deadline has reported that Robert Pattinson and Nicholas Hoult tested alongside Callum Turner, Jack Lowden and Josh O’Connor, and that a decision could come before the end of November. Those names are reports, not confirmed casting
• UK availability: UK release date not yet confirmed

If the report is right, it would mean a seven-year gap since No Time to Die. The bigger moment, the name of the new 007, could still come within weeks. Catch up on the race so far with Josh O’Connor’s reported exit and the Pattinson and Hoult screen-test reports.

Lionsgate lands Alma Har’el’s Wet, with Javier Bardem, Rebecca Ferguson and Rosalía

• What’s new: Lionsgate has acquired North America and UK rights to Wet, the next film from Honey Boy director Alma Har’el, Deadline reported
• Who’s in it: Connor Storrie (Heated Rivalry), Rebecca Ferguson (Dune, Silo), Odessa A’zion (Marty Supreme), Javier Bardem, the Spanish singer Rosalía and Lukas Haas (Spider-Noir)
• Behind it: Har’el co-wrote the script with Christian Stangeby. Fifth Season and 193, a Legendary Company, produce. Plot details are being kept under wraps, but Har’el calls it “a film that refuses to behave”
• UK availability: Lionsgate will release it in the UK; no date yet

That is a striking cast for Har’el’s first feature film since Honey Boy in 2019, and with Lionsgate holding UK rights, it already has a home here.

Warner Bros. develops a new take on You’ve Got Mail, with Jason Orley directing

• What’s new: Warner Bros. is developing a new version of Nora Ephron’s 1998 romantic comedy, with Jason Orley (I Want You Back, Big Time Adolescence) directing, Deadline reported
• Behind it: Orley is writing the current draft, based on a screenplay by Deborah Kaplan and Harry Elfont (Can’t Hardly Wait). Neal Moritz and Tania Landau produce through Original Film. How the story will be updated has not been revealed
• The original: Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan starred as rival booksellers who fall for each other by email without knowing who the other is. It took more than $250 million worldwide
• UK availability: UK date not yet confirmed

Ephron’s film was itself a remake of The Shop Around the Corner, so there is a good tradition here. The challenge will be finding a modern twist on anonymous romance that feels as warm as the AOL original.

Will you be listening to New Pathways, or booking a ticket for the original Star Wars on the big screen? Tell us below.

Back tomorrow with What to Watch Tonight at 7:30am and the Morning News at 8am.