Is It The End For Amy & Rory?

Todays announcement that Arthur Darvil will be starring in Doctor Faustus at The Globe from June through October of this year has got people wondering about the future of the current companions on the show.

As well as Arthurs turn on the boards, Karen Gillan is also signed to star in a movie with Robert Sheehan as well as film a drama special for BBC4, further filling their respective schedules. But where does this leave Rory and Amy in terms of travelling with the Doctor? Over on the forum, Oh-Wise-One had this to say about the possible departure of Arthur:

According to the press release he will be in the stage show from 18th June through to 2nd October. There are a few things that would indicate why this might mean the end for Rory.

a) The Christmas Special is rumoured to start filming at the beginning of June, so he wouldnt be available because of rehearsals for the play.

b) If he is doing six plays a week until October, that would mean his continuing full time on Doctor who would push filming back for series 7 until October. It usually starts in July/August

But we could look at it another way

c) Series 7 could be cut down to fewer episodes, allowing for a later filming start including Arthur
d) Series 7 moves to the Autumn, again allowing for a later start to filming and the inclusion of Arthur

Either way though I would say that he won't be in the Christmas episode because that will definately be filmed before October when his play ends. I'd also wager that even if the launch of the series is pushed back to Autumn next year, the filming block will probably remain the same due to Moffs commitments to Sherlock, which will be on a strict schedule due to Martin Freemans commitment to The Hobbit.

Just to reitterate, this is all speculative at the moment, but with Karens schedule looking just as hectic over the coming months it would seem that the chances of either of them returning full time is starting to look slim. As stated above, there are ways and means around this, but it would seem far more likely that we will soon be due new companions.