'Doctor Who' Season 8 Spoilers: Can Peter Capaldi Be Called Twelve [PHOTOS]? Find Out Matt Smith's Take On The Regeneration Issue [VIDEO]
Matt Smith is no longer the Doctor, but the former Time Lord was able to address a pressing regeneration question at Wizard World New Orleans.
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Following the events of the Doctor Who 50th Anniversary Special, many Whovians were left confused by the current numbering of the Doctors. While fans had grown to love Smith as the Eleventh regeneration, the emergence of the War Doctor put his status as No. 11 in to question.
Based on the chronology of New Who, viewers were lead to believe that Paul McGann's Eight Doctor fought in the Time War and was later replaced by Christopher Eccleston's Ninth Doctor. However, Steven Moffat threw a wrench in that chronology when he penned John Hurt's character for "The Day of the Doctor."
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Inserted as the War Doctor (also known as 8.5), Hurt's presence technically bumped Smith to number Twelve.
When asked if he considers his replacement, Peter Capaldi, to truly be the Twelfth Doctor in name, Smith's answer was an emphatic yes.
"Well, the thing is, I got really attached to eleven, and I'll always think, for my money, he's twelve. Because I like being eleven, because I like the number eleven," Smith explained, according to ComicBook.com. "Then, there's a whole lot of Doctor Who science that might suggest otherwise because of John Hurt, the other Doctor. But for me, I think number twelve."
Now with Capaldi at the TARDIS controls, Doctor Who is expected to return to BBC and BBC America this fall. Click the video below to get a behind-the-scenes peek at the season 8 premiere.
