Do we really know that for sure though? It wouldn't make a lot of sense, as Eccleston's Doctor has been acknowledged several times over the series; his existence has never been denied by anyone, including the Doctor himself.
I believe the point is that if Eccleston had been willing, Moffat would've written a different story, one that would've made use of Eccleston instead of introducing a hitherto-unacknowledged incarnation.
I was thinking the same thing about the sonic screwdriver. It looks like an older one for sure, looks like it's just a toy one though. :P
What I don't understand about the Hurt Doctor's clothing is, why is it a mix between McGann and Eccleston's attires? The Doctor hasn't had an evolution of clothing before, and in this case it seems as if the Doctor's clothing evolved from McGann through Hurt through Eccleston... only for Tennant to go totally different, just as Smith later did. Seems kinda pointless, to me.
Moffat on why Eccleston didn't return for The Day of the Doctor. Can't say that it changes anything - still sad that he chose not to return for this one time - but at least there was no hurt feelings or anything, according to Moffat. Which is good, of course.
Indeed, McGann's clothing has already 'evolved' into a mix of his and Eccleston's outfits in the most recent audio dramas (indicating he's very close to the start of the Time War and, presumably, his regeneration into Hurt). His new short haircut and stubbly appearance even seems a precursor to Hurt's Doctor.
I understand why they might've gone for it, to help establish the intent of that incarnation being in-between the other two, but I don't think its quite in-character for the Doctor. He's always gone for a stark contrast, clothes-wise, in each subsequent incarnation, with no real connections to his previous clothing. Now, I know I'm reading too much into this, and probably shouldn't be bothered by this, but... well, it just doesn't make sense to me, really.
Maybe this incarnation was never intended to be permanent. Could he be a 'forced' reincarnation like how the Timelords forced the Second Doctor to regenerate, but on this occasion, they deliberately created a more ruthless version of the Doctor intending him to be short-lived. This would explain why he doesn't have his own unique identity, as well as being why he did whatever it is the other Doctors are ashamed of.
That could be true. Of course, this could've been a story that Moffat has always wanted to tell, and was going to do it regardless if Eccelston was in it or not. Moffat had to suspect that Eccelston wasn't going to do it. Until Moffat does his own version of The Writer's Tale we may never now.
I am reasonably certain, just based on the final scene of The Name of the Doctor that John Hurt would have been in Day of the Doctor even if Eccleston agreed to be in it. Granted, it's just a gut instinct and I have nothing official to back it up. But I am pretty sure Moffat would have told this story of a darker incarnation of the Doctor shunned by his successors to the point they don't consider him a true Doctor anyway. Eccleston's refusal just meant one less actor needing to be paid.
There may not be appearances, but I wouldn't be that shocked if there wasn't an explanatory flashback to McGann regenning to Hurt, and a final shot of Hurt to Eccleston, both using doubles and existing footage.
I think the usage of stock footage for Eccleston, in the instance that they DO show Hurt's regeneration, is a possibility. And an opportune moment for McGann to cameo in his second and final APPEARENCE on Who. Here's hoping!
Well, as far as clothing similarity, there was that Question Mark thing he passed from Incarnation to Incarnation for awhile
"He can only regenerate 12 times… I think you should go back to your DVDs and count correctly this time. There’s something you’ve all missed." - Steven Moffat, the Cheltenham Literature Festival "I know people are worried (about the regeneration limit)...But I know Steven Moffat has put in the groundwork already." - Peter Davison What have we missed???
Probably referring to Brain of Morbius which shows other incarnations of the Doctor. Or it could be a reference to the fact that the regeneration limit can be extended, as the Time Lords offered the Master in The Five Doctors. Or that a Time Lord can transfer regenerations to another Time Lord. And River did give the Doctor all her remaining regenerations in Let's Kill Hitler. So the Doctor might already be capable of an additional ten lives or so.
I'm still on the "Timelords limited the regenerations to 12" train of thought. Wasn't there a line somewhere about ancient Timelords having unlimited lives? Sure, they could offer more or an entire new cycle if they wanted. But now, no Timelords, no limit.
It turns out that the Doctor got so many points for re-booting the universe that he got a couple of 1-Ups.