Though unconfirmed, Russell Tovey has said that the Doctor Who spin-off, The War Between the Land and the Sea, won’t be on Disney+ in America until 2027.

Tovey, one of the main stars of the spin-off, was speaking about how much he loved working with former showrunner, Russell T Davies, and went on to say:

“It was such a beautiful job. The writing was brilliant. The cast were amazing. It’s coming out on Disney+ next year, which I’m excited to see because no one over there has seen it internationally.”

But when? He doesn’t know. Tovey says it’s “definitely happening”, but adds:

“It’s taken its time. I’ve never known anything where it’s been this far apart. I remember in the ’90s, you’d go Blockbuster and there’d be a film out in America and you’d have to wait like six months until it come out in the UK, and that wait was unbearable! It feels like we’ve gone back to the ’90s with this. Like, we’ve got it here, and they have to wait.”

Frustratingly, the spin-off aired on BBC1 in December 2025 and fans in overseas territories were told to expect it in the first half of 2026 on Disney+; obviously, that never happened, and now everyone’s twiddling their thumbs.

The War Between the Land and the Sea featured Tovey as Barclay, alongside Gugu Mbatha-Raw as Salt (i.e. a Sea Devil of sorts), and several UNIT personnel — namely Jemma Redgrave as Kate Lethbridge-Stewart, Ruth Madeley as Shirley Ann Bingham, and Alexander Devrient as Colonel Ibrahim.

As Davies and production team Bad Wolf have left Doctor Who now, and Disney no longer co-funds it, The War Between the Land and the Sea feels a bit like a bygone era or a last hurrah. At least fans internationally have something Who-related to look forward to…