The Truth Is Out There: The Future of The X-Files

Is the X-Files coming back to tv? We want to believe.



"It's a comeback!!!
It's a comeback!!!
We be dancing
cause it's a comeback!!!"
Oh. My. God. It had been a rumor until January 17th 2015. Fox, the network, not the special agent, said that a new installment of The X-Files was being backed up and talked about and will star David Duchovny and Gillian Anderson. 

Certainly no new concepts have arisen, but logistics are being discussed. Both, Duchovny and Anderson have publicly said that they would love to do another movie for years now. Every so often, you would catch media about X-Files rumors floating around the internet for a week, then dissipate like Deep Throat into the shadows after giving Mulder the evidence he needs to solve a case. Here’s to hoping that after all these years of Scully and Mulder being out of our lives, they will return to the screen and dominate prime time television. 

Duchovny and Anderson are electric together and made The X-Files one of the best shows to ever hit tv. The X-Files ran from 1993-2002 (even though Duchovny had a disagreement with continuing the show after season five, which inevitably caused him to leave). While ratings dipped a little after ‘98, The X-Files still had a large enough following that helped it continue to a total of 9 seasons. 


"E-cig? I refuse."
In 2013, Chris Carter teamed up with IDW Publishing to create a continuation of the TV series preceding the events of the 2008 movie, I Want to Believe, making season 10 into a comic book of 25 issues. As a huge X-Files fan, reading the comics feels like watching some of my favorite episodes. Though the comic is doing well, I imagine people who are used to watching TV have a hard time sticking their faces into a book, especially in comic form. After the release of the comic, Netflix streamed all 9 seasons of The X-Files, bringing it back into the spotlight, spawning new debated discussions on forums and a podcast called The X-File Files by comedian Kumail Nanjiani. 

I know, Duchovny and Anderson are too old to be FBI agents in the field. So, what could this reboot be about? Not all FBI agents shoot guns and catch bad guys. Fox Mulder and Dana Scully now have the experience and credentials to head the new version of the X-Files division, hiring who they think is best fit to take their place on the ground. We live in a world of amazingly disturbing things; in a time where almost nothing goes unnoticed and lucky for us, Fox Mulder’s obsession with conspiracy theories and the unexplainable could make for a really intriguing modern return to The X-Files.


"What did you say?
You're not excited?
What's wrong with you?"
In I Want to Believe, Mulder and Scully are no longer FBI agents and living together, but were requested by the bureau to help with a rather strange case involving the disappearance of a fellow FBI agent. In the first issue of season 10, the FBI asks for Mulder and Scully’s help once more because information about the X-Files has been compromised. A series of unfortunate events occurs reeling the two back into the X-File division. This leaves so much open for interpretation for a reboot, continuing the story from season 10. Mulder and Scully’s personal relationship is again shaped throughout the series, keeping the lovesick fans on the edge of their seats. 

In this new take on the show, I feel like the writers should make it officially known whether Mulder and Scully are really together or not. After all, The X-Files is not about their personal love for one another, it’s a show about macabre and incomprehensible cases the FBI deals with. For all the diehard X-Files fans out there, I'm ecstatic to write about putting rumors to bed and say again that The X-Files will be back with the return of David Duchovny and Gillian Anderson. It's finally happening. The truth is out there. 

-Heather Contreras