7 days in sci-fi and beyond: Doctor Who shocks, superhero deaths and surprise returns

Doctor WOAH!

Yes, we had an awful lot to deal with in this week’s cavalcade of Doctor Who news, with the release of a new trailer leaving us full of questions. Was that another Tardis we spied, or just some kind of chamber? And what a crazy collection of monsters – is it us, or do some of them look familiar?

We also had a chat with the dearly departed Danny Pink, aka Samuel Anderson, who reckons he might still make a return to the series – albeit as Danny’s descendant, Orson. What a crazy Whoniverse we live in.

Return of the King

Perhaps a little predictably, Bill Murray will be making a cameo appearance in Paul Feig’s upcoming Ghostbusters reboot – and he’s wasn’t the only one whose triumphant return was announced this week. Yes, it looks like Ned Stark may be come back to Game of Thrones – albeit as a child, probably in a flashback and possibly not at all. But yeah, apart from those concerns it's totally legit.

Elsewhere, professional bald person and chair model Professor X seems also set to make a comeback, with Patrick Stewart revealing that his older version of the character is planned to be in the third Wolverine movie. The film will also be Hugh Jackman's last outing in the role of the clawed mutant, so it’s nice to see him catching up with old friends, right?

Oh, and sci-fi Netflix series Sense8 announced that it’s getting a return of sorts too, as it will be back for a second series – clearly it found a way to get inside people’s heads in the end.

See what we did there? No? Ok, moving swiftly on…

Holding out for a hero

Sadly, one person who won’t be returning to their old sci-fi/genre series is Hayden Panetierre’s Claire Bennet, who is apparently dead in Heroes sequel Heroes Reborn (via IGN). Guess the fast-healing cheerleader wasn’t so indestructible after all – and we bet that's brought plenty of anguish for her father Noah (Jack Coleman) in the new series.

Another heroic type in dire straits is Ben Hardy’s Angel, with the EastEnders actor apparently trading Walford for a Berlin Fight Club in a newly-released X-Men: Apocalypse image. Maybe he should have just stayed at the chippy – it's been a tough week to be a super-sort.

Fashion victims

Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens has released two extra seconds of footage (which we went over in frankly embarrassing detail) and a few new pictures that show plenty of the film’s villains – but all we can think about is the sartorial policy of the evil First Order. Why are they all wearing hats like Mark Rylance in Wolf Hall (visualised above)? And doesn’t Domnhall Gleeson know how to wear a coat (below)? That must be falling off ALL the time. And what's with C-3PO's arm?

Anyway, pretty sure that’s the reaction the filmmakers were hoping for. We’re respectful viewers of cinema here at RadioTimes.com.

So that was the week in sci-fi and genre news; hope you enjoyed it! If you need more of a fix, why not play in our Sci-fi Champion tournament, or vote for Peter Capaldi’s best Doctor Who episode – g’wan, you know you want to.

Alternatively you could wait until next Wednesday, when we have an exciting new sci-fi project to show off to you. Ooh, exciting. Until then, Excelsior!

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