David Yates on Board for Big Screen 'Doctor Who'

Fresh off the monster success of Harry Potter, director David Yates is turning his attention to another British icon, Doctor Who. 

Yates is developing a big screen version of the cult science fiction series for BBC Worldwide. He would direct the film. 

A BBC Worldwide spokeswoman described the project as being in the "early stages." A script still needs to be written and there's no actors attached.

Also: Another Harry Potter Movie Under Way -- But Not the Hogwarts Guy 

Jane Tranter, Executive Vice President of the BBC's Programming and Production, and Jane Gardner, who runs BBC's scripted division, will produce the film. 

The long-running series centers on a time traveling, humanoid alien named the Doctor. The Doctor has been played by 11 actors over the years, ranging from David Tennant to Christopher Eccleston, and the switch to different doctors is written into the series as part of the character's regeneration.

Matt Smith is the most recent actor to play the part. 

Yates got his start directing acclaimed BBC mini-series such as "State of Play" and "Sex Traffic." He went on to direct four of the eight Potter movies, including the two-part finale "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows."