Master of the macabre 

The Time War incarnation of the Master (Sir Derek Jacobi) can often be found scheming across time and space, but sometimes he needs a change of pace. In the forthcoming box set The War Master: Future Phantoms, he’s found recounting ghostly tales to students who don’t know what horrors they’re in for. 

For decades there have been rumours at St Simeon’s College: whispers of a door that somehow appears, once a year, in the depths of the building. 

Some claim it leads to a set of rooms owned by a long-forgotten master of the college, and if you happen to meet him, he’ll invite you inside to hear a story. A tale to chill the blood. But those who hear him speak are never the same. 

No one knows who the man is or where the rooms come from. There is no official record of either. And yet they both exist if you know where to look… when the cold, dark nights draw in. 

Would you like to hear a story? Because the Master’s waiting. 

The War Master: Future Phantoms is due for release in November and is now available for pre-order as a collector’s edition CD box set (+ download) for just £24.99 and as a digital download only for £19.99, exclusively here. 

The four eerie episodes in this box set are: 

His Close Companions by Jonathan Barnes 
The Foxglove Cylinders by James Goss 
The Sitter by Lizzie Hopley 
Signal and I’ll Come to You by Tim Foley 

Across the four stories, Sir Derek Jacobi is joined by a roster of guest stars, including Robert Glenister (Spooks, Hustle) in his first Big Finish role since 2007, Annette Badland (Doctor Who: Aliens of London, Ted Lasso), and Lorne MacFadyen (Vigil, Pistol). 

Future Phantoms is the eleventh box set in this range, and while the War Master’s adventures with Big Finish will continue, it is the last to be produced by Scott Handcock. 

Handcock said: “When we recorded our first box set with Derek back in 2017, it’s no secret to say that we all thought it would be a one-off. Eleven box sets later, he’s still going strong. He’s faced classic Doctor Who foes like the Daleks and Ood, met old companions Jo and Nyssa, confronted the Eighth and Tenth Doctors, fled the threat of Bilis Manger, and even haunted Professor Yana. 

“Now, before I hand the reins to Rob Valentine, we’re back for Future Phantoms. The joy of working with Derek is knowing you can throw absolutely anything at him and he will give it his all. We’ve tried to tackle different genres and flavours across our run, and here we find the Master in M. R. James mode, relating tales of the macabre to undergraduates. But there’s more than meets the eye. It’s a perfect, eerie box set for the cold winter nights.” 

Big Finish listeners can save money by pre-ordering Future Phantoms in a bundle with the previous two The War Master box sets, Solitary Confinement and Rogue Encounters, for £72 (collector’s edition CD box set + download) or £58 (download only). 

All the above prices include the special pre-order discount and are subject to change after general release. 

Please note that Big Finish is currently operating a digital-first release schedule. The mail-out of collector’s edition CDs may be delayed due to factors beyond our control, but all purchases of this release unlock a digital copy that can be immediately downloaded or played on the Big Finish app from the release date.