Benedict Cumberbatch to play the Master? Or just messing with Doctor Who?

Is this getting silly?

Pretty much everyone who watched Sherlock on the weekend enjoyed it. Benedict Cumberbatch was good. Lots of people could detect the Moffat writing style in the show. Nearly as many people thought Cumberbatch’s Holmes oozed “Doctorness” about it.

In fact, the speculation that Cumberbatch would be the natural appointment as the 12th Doctor grew so fast that Steven Moffat had to step in. He said;

“There is no vacancy. Matt Smith is the Doctor and he’s been an astonishing success and – who knows – maybe he’ll never regenerate again.”

Fans were alarmed by the “maybe he’ll never regenerate again” again comment. Had the BBC told Moffat he’d only get one run at the show? One cast?

Speculation had risen not just because of tabloid speculation that Matt Smith was ready to quit being Doctor and go off in search of American fame and fortune but also because of comments Cumberbatch made. Speaking to Digital Spy, Benedict had said he wouldn’t be appearing in an episode of Doctor Who, stressing the an to make it sound like he would be more than one.

You can see the short interview yourself.

Now the Sherlock star has let it be known that he could have had the role of Doctor but chose not to. Or rather, he could have confidenantly chased the audition but didn’t want to. He told The Sun;

David and I talked about it but I thought it would have to be radically different.

“And anyway I didn’t really like the whole package – being on school lunchboxes.”

There’s certainly the sense that Cumberbatch is worried that the two roles would overlap. A Doctor-like Sherlock (or a Sherlock like Doctor?) is one thing but I’d imagine his portrail of the Doctor would be more Tennantesq in style than Matt Smith’s has been.

However, he does seem to be involved in the show in some way. There’s an obivious role for a good actor, who gets on well with Moffat and who reminds us of a Timelord. The Master.

This is just speculation but would a Cumberbatch Master be the perfect foil to a Matt Smith Doctor?

If he’s not signed up for a significant role then what is he playing at? It almost seems like he’s stirring the pot. It could be a tactic to stay in the news but surely it’ll burn bridges with Who fans.