http://www.bleedingcool.com/2013/08/16/john-hurt-reference-in-new-doctor-who-comic/
Recent comics leading up to Doctor Who's 50th Anniversary have revealed that John Hurt's character is indeed the "real" 9th incarnation of the Doctor. It is also said that the reason why he did not go by the name of the Doctor was due to him fighting in the Time War. What this means for the future of the show is unknown at this point. However, if John Hurt's Doctor is not written out of time in the 50th special, then Peter Capaldi is the 13th and last incarnation.
- (above post unsigned)
- In his first season finale, Moffat ended the Universe, then restarted it whilst writing the Doctor and the linking plot element of the season (the cracks in time) out of existence. Two more seasons and two more (undone after-the-fact) universal destructions later, and I think that Hurt being written out of time for good is actually a likely scenario, if not just because it's Moffat, then so a horde of angry fans don't burn down the BBC for lying to them for 9 years. —BioniclesaurKing4t2 - "Hello, I'm the Doctor. Basically, . . . run." 02:31, August 25, 2013 (UTC)
I agree. I think Moffat has set up a situation in which the current (Matt Smith) incarnation is the one who dies at Trenzalore & the TARDIS in her current "desktop theme" becomes his tomb. That's not something Moffat's going to leave unchanged. My guess is that the Anniversary Special will show how it's changed & (probably) the Christmas Special will show the consequences of the change: regeneration into an incarnation that wasn't in the timestream at Trenzalore.
I'd further guess that the John Hurt incarnation either will redeem himself by making the change or will make the change by redeeming himself, possibly writing himself out of the Doctor's past in the process.
By the way, despite what Moffat says:http://metro.co.uk/2013/08/22/steven-moffat-confirms-doctor-who-can-only-regenerate-12-times-3933733/. I do not believe that the 13th Doctor will be the Doctor's last incarnation. The BBC's Doctor Who FAQ suggests that now the Time Lords are gone, the Doctor may be able to regenerate indefinitely; it says: "Now that his people are gone, who knows? Time Lords used to have 13 lives."
Believe me, if the BBC want to continue past Doctor 13, they will certainly find a way.