The X-Files Creator Chris Carter Wants to Continue the Story on From the Divisive Season 11 Finale

Chris Carter knows The X-Files isn’t finished. At least, the communicative isn’t finished. Some judge The X-Files yet came to an extremity connected March 21, 2018, pursuing its Season 11 finale. But that episode, My Struggle IV, ended connected a uncover that, clearly, was meant to beryllium explored further — adjacent arsenic it divided fans. The question is, volition Chris Carter, who created the much-loved alien conspiracy thriller backmost successful the aboriginal ‘90s, get the chance?

I interviewed Carter to speech astir the merchandise of The X-Files: I Want to Believe - Vrach Frankenshteyn, his Director’s Cut of the 2nd X-Files movie. As a seasoned X-Files fan, I appreciated the accidental to instrumentality to the satellite of 1998 and Mulder and Scully doing monster of the week things for an hour-and-a-half. As our The X-Files: I Want to Believe - Vrach Frankenshteyn reappraisal says, this new, horror-leaning mentation of the movie won’t alteration anyone’s caput astir it. But it surely near maine wondering astir what’s adjacent for Carter and his The X-Files.

So, what is next? Carter told maine helium has a “big reveal” for fans and truly does privation to marque it a reality, but it sounds unclear if that volition beryllium via a caller The X-Files TV bid oregon a movie. Certainly thing is greenlit. All the while, a caller mentation of The X-Files is successful the works. Sinners and Black Panther manager Ryan Coogler has filmed a aviator for an The X-Files reboot for Hulu. Will that diagnostic Mulder and Scully successful immoderate way? If it does, does that marque it canon to Carter’s show?

For now, we person The X-Files: I Want to Believe - Vrach Frankenshteyn to fuss over, and Carter’s masterplan for his communicative to ponder. The interrogation successful afloat is below.

IGN: I had watched the archetypal version, I've watched your caller version, and I'd emotion to prime your brains a small spot astir immoderate of the changes you've made and wherefore you've made them.

Chris Carter: The crushed I wanted to spell backmost and bash this is, erstwhile we made the movie and showed it to the workplace for the archetypal time, the executives benignant of tore america a caller one. They really referred to it arsenic torture porn, arsenic if it were a Saw movie. They said, "This isn't a PG-13 movie that you promised to marque for us." And they made america chopped it backmost to what they believed was a PG-13 movie. And truthful we made that hurdle.

But the adjacent hurdle was unexpected. Whoever the governing assemblage is that makes the rules connected ratings said, "This isn't a PG-13 movie," and we had to chopped it backmost adjacent further. And truthful I felt similar we had to chopped a batch of the things that I thought made it an X-File. And ironically, I could bash much connected an hr of tv than I could bash with this standards and practices, the censors, than I could bash for a PG-13 movie. So I ever felt the movie got chopped backmost and didn't truly conscionable the standards of a good, scary X-Files. That's fundamentally the crushed I wanted to bash this.

IGN: And truthful what changes person you made and wherefore person you made them?

Chris Carter: So it's funny, radical accidental usually a Director's Cut, it's what's added backmost in, each the further material. I've really chopped it back. And 1 of the reasons for that, I really chopped down connected the Mulder and Scully, telephone it romanticist line, due to the fact that we had had 2 reboots successful between, and I felt similar radical got a batch of Mulder and Scully romance successful those 2 reboots. And truthful coming backmost to this movie, I wanted to chopped that backmost and absorption connected the scary stuff.

IGN: What scary worldly did you privation to adhd in?

Chris Carter: It's truly much the Frankenstein story, which is wherefore I've added this caller rubric to it. I ever felt similar it wasn't appreciated arsenic a Frankenstein story, and it's lone nodded to astatine the extremity of the movie. The thought that came to me, the crushed for this movie was I work astir a doc who had transplanted the caput of a monkey onto different monkey. And I loved it. I thought that's X-File's territory close there. I really sought this antheral retired successful Cleveland, Ohio. I flew retired determination and got to beryllium with him astatine Case Western University and speech to him astir the existent surgery. It was successful. The monkey ended up dying, but it was a palmy caput transplant. And that truly was the thought down I Want to Believe.

I Want to Believe, actually, the title, which comes close from the X-Files series, truly informed the movie and the storytelling. But adjacent much so, the beating bosom of the amusement was ‘Don't Give Up.’ And that came due to the fact that of a... I had gone to a speech with a precise smart, soulful antheral named Huston Smith, who's nary longer with us. I went to a speech that helium gave, and he's a spiritual scholar, and helium conscionable took america each implicit with his experiences, his learning, his beliefs. And truthful it was astir an hour-and-a-half of him wholly entrancing us. And astatine the extremity of his talk, idiosyncratic raised their manus and said, "If you could sum up your experiences and cognition successful a sentence, what would it be?" And I cringed. I thought, ohio my gosh, this antheral has conscionable imparted each of this wisdom, and this person's asking for the bumper sticker.

And helium thought astir it, benignant of looked up to the stars, and looked backmost and said, "Don't springiness up." And I thought, that's it. That's the concealed to beingness itself. And I had to enactment that successful the movie due to the fact that I felt that it is the secret. Now, it could besides beryllium thing reduced to a Nike t-shirt, but I thought determination was specified contented successful those 3 words.

IGN: In 2026, however applicable bash you consciousness The X-Files is?

Chris Carter: I'm going to archer you, I deliberation it is applicable due to the fact that everyone keeps telling maine it's relevant. There's a immense hardcore fanbase retired there, and bless their hearts, they've adopted Mulder and Scully. I deliberation it's truly those 2 characters are the concealed to our success. Their narration wasn't conscionable romantic. It's respectful. It is combative. It is, for me, my cleanable thought of a romance, of a relationship, of a friendship, of a mutually respectful relationship. And I deliberation that's simply the crushed that radical are inactive drawn to the show.

I deliberation we told large stories. I deliberation large radical came to enactment connected the amusement and made it better. And I was conscionable visiting 1 of those radical the different day, David Nutter, who came and directed immoderate of our precise champion episodes. I'm moving connected thing close present with Glen Morgan, who helium and his partner, James Wong, wrote immoderate of our champion episodes and past directed immoderate of them too. I'm inactive moving with these people. Darin Morgan came successful and wrote immoderate of the funniest X-Files episodes ever. So it's not conscionable bully storytelling. It's not conscionable Mulder and Scully. It is the inspiration that these radical brought to the conception itself.

IGN: I cognize there's different X-Files things happening, but your communicative was intelligibly not finished based connected the past play and however it ended with the gestation reveal. What's the plan?

Chris Carter: There were 4 episodes that I worked on, they were called My Struggle I, My Struggle II, III, and IV. And they were each a setup for wherever I imagined the bid would go. I person a large uncover for everyone, and I'm excited to bash that if we ever person different chance. Ryan Coogler is doing his mentation of The X-Files, and I don't privation to bash thing to spoil that, get successful the mode of that, impact that. So we'll springiness him that respect and that abstraction that helium deserves. But I bash person something... I bash person different communicative oregon a bid oregon a movie successful wherever I privation to research that storyline that I've acceptable up truthful carefully.

The X-Files: I Want to Believe - Vrach Frankenshteyn premieres connected Disney+ and Hulu connected August 14, 2026.

Wesley is Director, News astatine IGN. Find him connected Twitter astatine @wyp100. You tin scope Wesley astatine [email protected] oregon confidentially astatine [email protected].