Doctor Who‘s The Master may be the most famous recurring villainous Time Lord, but they aren’t the only one. There’s also Rassilon, someone Whovians are all too familiar with.

The Lord High President was brought in to be the final foe of David Tennant’s Tenth Doctor, where he was played by Timothy Dalton. Veteran character actor Donald Sumpter took over the role for Peter Capaldi’s second series finale. In short, he’s a pretty big deal.

Rassilon is now coming back in an upcoming audio drama from Big Finish, and they’ve called in Richard Armitage to play him. Having appeared in Hannibal, Castlevania, The Stranger, Robin Hood and played Thorin in The Hobbit trilogy, he’s got a LOT of cred.

Titled Time War 4, the drama will delve even deeper into the conflict between the Time Lords and the Daleks, as it grows to affect the entirety of space and time.

Speaking about how he stepped into the role, the actor said:

“Rassilon is one of those defining spines of this lore. I’ve watched enough sci-fi to know that there has to be an omnipotent being that has a self-aggrandising mental state which puts him above everybody else, like a malevolent, maniacal dictator.

“I grew up with Doctor Who. The Daleks and the Cybermen were definitely my ‘hiding behind the sofa’ baddies. But I loved being frightened.

“Tom Baker was my Doctor. He had that voice. In a way, what I have tried to do with Rassilon is a little bit Tom Baker-esque.”

Teasing a bit about how Rassilon will be in the drama, director Scott Handcock said he was the dangerous combination of “powerful, headstrong and overflowing with self-conviction”.

The multi-part series will drop in February 2021.