X-Files mythology, TenThirteen Interviews Database, and more

Posts Tagged ‘xf3’

Jan
25
2026

Carter on 10 years of the revival, season 12, third movie possibilities

The X-Files revival is already a decade old! As incredible as that sounds. “My Struggle I” premiered on January 24, 2016; followed by “Founder’s Mutation” just a day later. A decade later, Chris Carter is still preparing new things for the world of The X-Files. Here we break down his latest interview, the last interview of The X-Cast podcast, recorded on November 23, 2025. After hosting academic-level analysis of TXF and bringing us dozens of interviews with cast and crew, the X-Cast ran its course and finished its notable run (I even sent them an audio message for their last episode!). But Carter is not done with the show, and he even looks forward to more interview with them despite the fact he was told that this was for the X-Cast’s closing salvo. It feels very weird listening to this interview: on the one hand it feels like the ending of an era, with the revival being as old as it is now, and with these dedicated fans calling it a day; and on the other hand Carter opens up so many fronts that it’s impossible even for the most jaded fan not to be excited for the future.

“I Want To Believe” Director’s Cut

  • As first announced on David Duchovny’s podcast, an all-new cut of the second movie is in preparation.
  • Carter is exchanging notes with Garfield Whitman; he was post-production supervisor in Carter’s “The After” and an associate producer / co-producer for both TXF revival seasons. They have a finalized cut and sending it to studio imminently.
  • Carter and Spotnitz loved their script. The studio asked them to make a change; to get the PG-13 rating they had to take out several scary things and part of the story. Then the Motion Picture Association asked for more cuts. Carter found out that the PG-13 rating on theatrical movies is less permissive than network TV.
  • The story is an “homage to Frankenstein”. He had heard that a doctor in Cleveland had done a transplant of a monkey’s head. He visited him for research. The equipment in the lab in the movie would have been what would really have been used from that operation.
  • The Mulder-Scully relationship went through an “interesting wrinkle” in IWTB. Mulder and Scully never got married. [A thousand fanfic writers cry in agony!]
  • He remembers lots of shooting in the snow. With the director of photography, the did tests using digital cameras, but the snow was blurred out, so they decided to shoot on film.
  • The distance from it since 2008 makes him look at it with fresh eyes. He lifted some things, rearranged a couple of things.
  • He is working with the “best editor I’ve ever known”, Eleanor Infante, it’s “her version of the movie”; she worked on season 11, and with Carter on My Struggle IV (here’s a recent interview with her). They have added effects and music. Changes are sprinkled throughout. The new cut has “made it lean on the story rather than completely on the relationship.”
  • “It was not the movie we set out to make”, “it was always a disappointment”. [!]
  • His wife has seen the new cut, she is his toughest critic.
  • There is not more Skinner in it.
  • They have access to Mark Snow’s music library from the show, they are drawing from it for the new edit. “Mark Snow MS is TXF”. Carter talked with him shortly before he died, his diagnosis was terminal. [Nice to hear him talk about Snow, finally.]
  • They are on a tight budget. He wants to add two contemporary songs in the edit, and they are expensive.
  • It’s impossible to say when it will be released. [Or how? Could Disney/Fox be planning this as a tease before the premiere of Coogler’s TXF series?]

[This cut is more than the already-existing IWTB extended cut (in the DVD/BluRay), it is much more than either reverting to an earlier cut before the changes demanded by the studio (see “Blade Runner” Final Cut, more or less), or taking extra scenes that were shot and adding them in (see “The Lord of the Rings” Extended Editions): it is an all-new edit with new sound mix based on the same raw material, with a different editor and a director who is 17 years wiser. This is closer to “Caligula” Ultimate Cut, you could say, and rather quite unique in movie history. Now, I don’t know to what extent the additions will make me have a complete change of opinion on the entire movie. But we are not talking about just adding in more violence, and indeed some additional story is very much welcome. Surely it bodes well for making the movie at least marginally better! I will look forward to this. What is most surprising out of all this is Carter’s admission that the 2008 movie was a “disappointment”: a very rare admission and an example of self-criticism that is not Carter’s forte, as we will see in what follows.]

The 2016-2018 reboot

  • The reboot came about not with Carter going to the studio, but with the studio approaching him and the actors first.
  • “Darin’s episodes were fantastic” (if they could have done more, “my answer is always more Darin Morgan”!), “Glen [Morgan] and Jim [Wong] were great to have”. Frank Spotnitz was busy in Europe. Great to have newcomers like Ben van Allen, who did a horror movie type episode [Familiar].
  • Series today have the luxury of having all scripts ready before shooting, they didn’t. [S10-11 were produced in the ‘old style’ of network TV, like the original series in the 90s.]
  • A writer wrote an episode but it wasn’t TXF, Glen jumped in and wrote a fantastic ep. [He won’t say which writer it was and which episode Glen replaced. “Rm9”?]
  • The studio thought of reordering the s10 episodes. He didn’t disagree, but it was not a popular decision.
  • About “Babylon”: “Miller” is Mulder in Dutch, and David’s son is called Miller; “Einstein” fits with Scully’s science background. He anticipated the question on whether this was a backdoor pilot; but there was no time nor the opportunity to discuss anything more than what they did. He has friends who have done MDMA or ayahuasca, they have come back changed; it was fun to see Mulder do something like that with his mushroom trip. He is a fan of Fatboy Slim’s video clip with Christopher Walken [Weapon Of Choice], wanted to see something similar.
  • “My Struggle I” was written 2015 before Trump and it “predicts the conspiracy-laden crazed world world as we live in today”. He had been going to conspiracy theory conventions, he saw what was coming. “My Struggle II” predicted the pandemic.
  • The revival is “good”, “the work is great”.

[While there are certainly good things to say about the revival, and 10 years passing has already started doing its work in terms of re-evaluation, I still wouldn’t call it “great”, especially where the mythology is concerned, which is entirely Carter’s doing. MS1 might have thrown the viewer into a whole new world of crazy conspiracies, especially with that scene where Mulder and O’Malley are trying to one-up each other at the most out-there conspiracy theory, but the show didn’t do anything that was narratively interesting out of this mess. At the time in my review, I expected the confusion in MS1 to correspond to Mulder’s state of mind, hoping that subsequent episodes would develop this, clarifying the lies from the truth, becoming specific rather than vague, producing a plot that says something and brings change into the characters; what we got instead was a mere statement, a mood, and stopping there, on to different things in every single Struggle. Clearly, Carter is not one that relishes the current state of things under Trump, the MS1 conspiracy overload was a warning that paranoia would be our undoing, not that all conspiracies were premonitions. As a result, bona fide right-wing conspiracy theorists took MS1 at face value and felt vindicated that their world view was becoming mainstream; MS2 did little to correct that.]

[Of course an author doesn’t have to share his characters’ opinions, as in any work of fiction. There is this whole reading of the Struggle episodes about subjectivity: paranoia in My Struggle I (Mulder), lots of science in 2 (Scully), lies / cover-ups / self-aggrandizement in 3 (CSM), and whatever 4 was (William). And indeed these episodes become more interesting once you perceive that, they are complex episodes. However, at some point you have to tell a story, some story: you can’t have absolutely nothing happening in an objective shared reality and impacting character motivations, decisions, actions following one another, plot. So the Struggles-as-subjectivity was a nice experiment, but that reading can only hold to a certain point.]

The “My Struggle IV” clue and season 12?

  • About the 4 “My Struggles”: “they were all aiming at season 12. Whether that happens or not I can’t predict. I can’t think of any bigger things that I’ve set up through the course of those 4 episodes than I’ve done in the show previously. I’ve got big ideas. I certainly would love to see those come together as a series or as another movie. We’ll see.”
  • Theories about what the clue about the continuation could be (the host Kurt throws several theories at him: that there is no real savior, everyone is their own savior; that Scully’s pregnancy was the first stable inherited hybrid; and Eat The Corn’s own elaborated theory was quoted to Carter, that William can perceive the “music of the spheres” and have access to timelines and can change the future): “all of that plays into the culmination, I put a big clue in there and no one has really — not even responded to the clue, haven’t seen the clue. That clue is staring you in the face, it plays into what TXF will or will not become in the future.”
  • There was a “not pleasant exchange” with Gillian, she felt Scully didn’t have agency. “The pregnancy came out of the blue for her, which it did, because it came out of the blue for me too.”
  • There were some angry fan reactions after the finale: “It showed me I hadn’t done enough to convince people what I’m doing. I’m doing this organically, its not like I — all has to do with the show and what came before it, but I’ve got a big idea, a lot of people didn’t see it that way.”

[I was excited at building up that theory collecting quotes from various of his theories, and I must say I was disappointed not at the fact that it’s wrong, that’s fine, but more at his whole attitude. It’s amazing to me how he persistently teases us with this big clue for well over a year now. Despite being directly presented with the most meticulous fan-made theories, his reaction is just the spiel as if he hadn’t heard anything, that there’s a clue that somehow absolutely nobody has thought about or even come close to. Is he taking us all for a ride just to stir interest in making more episodes? It just never ends and there is no catharsis, if season 12 is made there will always be season 13 to tease afterwards. And when the journey is so frustrating I’m not sure I’m interested in the destination.]

A third movie?

  • Carter was discussing with 20th Century Studios President Steve Asbell about a possible third TXF movie. That’s when the idea to do a director’s cut of IWTB first came about, it came out of the blue.
  • David Duchovny and Carter have been “talking about something new for quite a while”, something involving both Duchovny and Anderson. All three were going to have lunch together on December 1 to discuss this project.
  • All this is separate from Coogler’s project. Carter gave his blessing to Coogler, it will be his own thing. “I’m curious what he’s going to do.”
  • There’s a lot of new science he wants to write about in new episodes.
  • About continuing the story in other media: Others come to him with project and ask him if he wants to collaborate. “Perihelion” book: “I think she did a terrific job.” The cancelled TXF animated series “didn’t happen, I think I made the right choice” [to cancel it]. “I don’t think we’ve seen the end of these characters in the medium we’ve come to know them.” [i.e. live-action] “These characters and the show are so personal to me, I want to protect them every way and every time I can. I don’t want to have them become irrelevant because there’s so much of them, so I’m reluctant to — although there are opportunities like the Coogler series.”
  • In IWTB there are “all those little things I laid in there, on the wall, the back of Mulder’s door at home, little things that meant something to me, now I have the chance to — there’s more to see.” [Is this about the elements in the new cut, or that IWTB includes hints about what comes next that will become clear later?]

[So not only the story of TXF is not over, he actively has plans for a season 12 and a story idea for a third film, all in parallel to Ryan Coogler’s potential series. This is huge! Is it 2008 all over again? Time to resurrect the tag. Mulder and Scully are off-limits to Coogler, at most there could be a cameo for them, and we can call this project a “spin-off” of the main series. Mulder and Scully are ‘reserved’ for whatever Carter (and Duchovny) have in mind. I understand that will to “protect” the characters: Carter has poured so much of himself in this world, his worldview so unique and so closely associated to the TXF identity, that it’s difficult to imagine TXF without him. Despite everything I’ve just said about his revival episodes (and my head-canon still stops after season 7), I will always be interested in what he does. I genuinely hope he proves my negativity wrong!]

[But is he reading the room well? How likely is any of this to bear fruit? Is one re-edited movie that carries a lot of lukewarm baggage enough to trigger financing for a new revival? Coogler’s project has an uphill battle to convince a new audience that it will have an identity of its own and that it can stand on its feet, and the studio and Disney will focus their marketing on that new thing instead of a return to the old. So will we ever know what Carter intends? His approach to hold everything hidden is very different to, say, Daniel Knauf revealing planned plot points for “Carnivàle” or James Cameron saying he would be ready to publish everything in a press conference or in a book if no more of his “Avatar” films are made!]

Misc and non-TXF projects

  • He is about to embark on a new directing project. His wife wrote something about 35 years ago, it was optioned but never made. He found the script in their closet. She has updated it. They have found the perfect actress for it, it will excite TXF fans. They are now searching for investors for it. [I hope he manages to do it, just so that we can see more of his work being made and break his ‘single-success man’ image.]
  • “I have an idea right now that is kind of my answer to the criticism of ‘The After’, it may see the light of day someday.” [Another story idea, another thing I want to learn more about!]
  • The logo: the “typewriter X” was created by himself. The “X” used in “Fight the Future” was made by others; but he “has ideas about” that logo for the future.
  • His advice to young Carter writing the TXF pilot in 1992: “You’re lucky you didn’t listen to your mother, who said you don’t know what a hard days work is!” They worked a lot for the series! “My forebears were dairy farmers who got up at the crack of dawn to milk the cows. I was the same person, working on a science fiction TV show.”

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Jan
23
2015

Revival! Revival!

So many news within two weeks! The After cancelled, the confirmation that IDW/Joe Harris will be making a Season 11 in comics after Season 10 wraps, the first sign of FOX finally expressing interest for bringing back The X-Files in some form — while Frank Black returns in comics form this week!

The After: much ado about nothing

The After, Chris Carter’s new series on Amazon, has been cancelled before it got off the ground. After the pilot aired last February, Amazon ordered a full 8-episode season in March, and the last comment we heard was in July with Carter mentioning Dante’s Inferno as an inspiration. It was to be expected, as there was absolutely no news around it and no new episodes were being produced to meet the “airing” date of the season that was expected to be spring 2015. On January 5, the only comment that accompanied the cancellation from Amazon was that:

“We have decided to not move forward with ‘The After,’ We would like to thank Chris Carter, the phenomenal cast, crew and producers for all their efforts.”

An extremely short comment. Surely a lot went on behind the scenes. So The After gets cancelled in the general indifference of the potential audience Amazon could have been counting on, the X-Files/Millennium fanbase, and of the public and critics at large. And I think it’s very unlikely that another network or producer would pick up The After and continuing it. By comparison, the other show from Georgeville TV, the same production company as The After, Sense8, has kept the buzz going and is developing to one of the most interesting series for me for 2015.

Coincidentally, and funnily enough, Spotnitz’s own project, a TV series adaptation of Philip K Dick’s “The Man in the High Castle“, aired its pilot at Amazon as part of this year’s pilot season, to huge critical acclaim — and it shows that the budget must be several times what that of The After was, Amazon is really putting a lot of weight behind this project! Being also a PKD fan I find the whole enterprise very interesting but also very risky: I don’t see how this could hold for more than a season’s worth of story.

Carter is still attached to the development of “Area 51” at AMC, a project in development since 2012, but no news there either since last March. Which is not to say that the project won’t happen eventually, such beasts have long development times.

This is a hard blow to Carter. An update from him would be more than welcome, it will be interesting to hear his own point of view on what happened on The After and how he would spin it, how this will affect him after also having another show not being picked up (Unique) and having a movie aborted at near completion (Fencewalker). I had my own very mixed opinion of The After pilot, however I found it good news that Carter would be back with something new and creative, after an extended break that’s been going on for over a decade — if you don’t count the intermission of IWTB that ended up with him at a state of exhaustion. In terms of credibility and pull for new projects in the harsh realm that is the movie & TV industry, Carter is now at a vary delicate position. It would be foolish to think that a third X-Files theatrical movie or a Millennium project by Carter would be an easy sell on Fox, even if Carter were to put all his energy to make it happen (which he hasn’t been doing). Actually, anything by Carter now would be a hard sell. I could even imagine him going back to his voluntary retirement! — but I hope he still has things left unsaid in him.

So what now?

Sequel or no sequel?

Carter has always had a theatrical movie in his mind, he has had that vision of XF as a movie franchise since 1998 and he repeated that in the 20th anniversary panel at San Diego Comic Con in 2013 (covered on EatTheCorn). Movie or nothing. It’s been two years now after the self-imposed date the XF mythology was looking at for its endgame. With chances of an ending of the XF on the big screen slimmer than ever, there have been signs that things have been changing in Carter’s mind. In the summer of 2014 Carter had “conversations” with FOX, and in December Carter and Spotnitz were discussing the future of the franchise.

I don’t live for a sequel or continuation and I most often dislike the trend of making endless sequels for sequels’ sake — however, independently of my likes or dislikes, for such a popular franchise a continuation or reboot is quite likely somewhere down the road. For years, Spotnitz has been saying that the economic case for FOX doing something — anything — with the X-Files brand name is there, it is just a matter of time. Evidently the legal suit precedents between Carter and FOX and the very mitigated success of IWTB did not help. Perhaps FOX didn’t want to entrust Carter with a full feature film and Carter didn’t want to change his stance; perhaps things are changing now at FOX; perhaps both parties have been waiting patiently for the whole thing to mature and make a revival of a classic.

xftp

Pop culture is cyclical and as the youth of yesterday becomes the trend-setters of today, what was old becomes new again, which explains the revival of design and music and pop culture franchises from the 1980s lately (Tron, Terminator, Mad Max, Star Wars, now Jurassic Park). We are now getting to the point where 1990s things will be the thing studios draw upon. It’s already happening, with one of the most exciting news of recent: the resurrection of Twin Peaks 25 years after it ended with a “third season”! And this is not your typical revival, for this is supported by the show’s original creators Mark Frost and David Lynch — something of a first in the history of television.

Television and the entertainment industry is not what it used to be twenty or ten years ago, and what might have been considered “second rate” back then is now hot. Event mini-series with season-long arcs are now a new popular format (American Horror Story, True Detective, the independent seasons of House of Cards, the 24 event). For a new XF, I’ve long supported the idea of aiming at a made-for-TV movie or direct-to-DVD movie or a limited run TV mini-series as a more accessible and realistic venue for such an endeavor, and perhaps that’s where things are headed.

The X-Files: The Revival

Speaking at the annual Television Critics Association Winter press tour at Pasadena, FOX co-chairs mentioned among many, many other things, that they’d had conversations and that they’re hopeful that X-Files would be back. They probably had no idea of what would follow. After the presentation journalists asked for more details on X-Files and in the hours and day that followed an incredible number of media outlets worldwide — even TIME and CNN! — did an article that took it nearly as granted that the X-Files was returning!
What was actually said?

During the panel (from live-tweets):

Gary Newman says “we’re hopeful” about bringing back #XFiles

Gary Newman: We’ve had conversations about #XFiles

After the panel (here and here):

Newman: “What I can say is that if this happens, it’ll be with David and Gillian reprising their roles. Chris is interest, both David and Gillian are interested. Scheduling is very difficult. David has his show, Gillian is doing something in the UK. I really don’t know how fast it can happen, but there are ongoing conversation happening.”

Walden: “You know who we’re dealing with, do you think I can elaborate???” [joke on Carter!] “Gary and I both worked through the entire run of the X-Files. It was a great experience, we’ve maintained great relationships with creator Chris Carter, Gillian, and David. We’re very hopeful. It’s hard because they’re actors who are very busy. Chris has a lot going on. So it’s about finishing those conversations.” [FOX] “would not move forward without Chris.”

So no actual mention of reboot, and it’s very clear the original stars and the creator (not to mention co-owner!) are involved: technically, that’s called a revival — although many journalists added to the confusion already existing among media lingo by mentioning a reboot.

So what ushered this?

  • Carter: The passage of time and perhaps his frustration with his new projects might have played a role for Carter to re. Surely the early discussions with FOX started before The After was cancelled, however Carter must have known about things going astray on The After for a several months and the cancellation might have accelerated things.
  • FOX: with the passage of time, old executives who might have had grudges against Carter (especially around the time his series were getting cancelled, that of Harsh Realm in particular was bitter on Carter; and during the years he had a lawsuit with FOX) are leaving and are replaced by people who have worked with or appreciate Carter. Those who announced the revival, Dana Walden and Gary Newman, are “very friendly” with Carter and grew in the business together; as recently appointed co-chairmen of Fox Television Group and CEOs they plan to rebuild the ailing FOX and steer it into new territory.
  • Precedents: the success of the 24: Live Another Day miniseries event, the announcement of the Twin Peaks revival
  • Buzz during and after the 2013 San Diego Comic Con
  • Buzz during 2014 and more recently: Kumail Nanjiani’s X-Files Files podcast, Gillian Anderson on the Nerdist podcast

How is this different from previous endless rumors and replies to nagging questions?

  • This is FOX talking. The last reaction from FOX is a few months after the release of IWTB, saying that they were waiting to hear from Carter.
  • It has been confirmed by both parties, FOX and Carter, that discussions are happening.
  • The media coverage and buzz this passing mention of preliminary conversations has generated shows to FOX there is huge interest out there. They even asked William B Davis about it!

Anderson had, a few days before only, generated some buzz thanks to a Nerdist podcast that launched the twitter trend #XFiles2015. And a few days later Duchovny weighted in saying he’s “more than happy and excited to bring it back“, and “that it will happen sooner rather than later now. We’ll see what form, how many [episodes]. Certainly I can’t nor would I be interested in doing a full season. It will be in some kind of limited form. We’re all old, we don’t have the energy for a full season.” So the interest is definitely there.

All in all, nothing is set in stone, but something will be happening! How, when?

  • With writing, pre-production, shooting, post-production ahead of us, we are looking at some time in 2016 — 8 years after IWTB!
  • Carter will be involved. There have been many voices even within hardcore XF fans against him, but it’s his property and he has specific ideas about this. If there’s a reboot later that’s another story. But, apart from long-time collaborator and seasons 8-9 mythology co-creator Spotnitz, I’d hardly expect anybody else from the old writing team to be involved. It will either be entirely Carter/Spotnitz, or them plus a newcomer — especially if a reboot is in the minds of FOX.- Short seasons are more and more the norm: the writing is tight, the shooting schedule is short for the actors, the marketing is focused. Let’s expect a 6-12 episode season.
  • XF3 would always have been about the alien colonization mythology. But even with a mini-series, the shortened length wouldn’t allow for a back-and-forth between independent episodes and mythology episodes. I expect a single story, cut in parts.
  • It would make good sense for Fox to hold on to the remastered series in HD and use the release of a BluRay boxset as promotional material for the new event/series if/when that happens.
  • Schedules have to be aligned — a burdensome development could come up if the stars are contractually tied to a specific network and can’t appear in many networks simultaneously.- Given the pop culture importance of the brand name, it’s easy to imagine Fox wanting to produce more than a one-off event and thinking ahead about continuing the franchise. It’s possible that this event would serve as both a farewell to the old characters and as an introduction to a younger group of characters that could be used in a re-launch of the series: the “old” stars are perfectly capable of holding their own, but at or approaching their fifties the most likely option is that they would form only part of the cast which would include younger actors as well. So this could be the last Mulder & Scully X-Files we see — with a reboot down the road.

The comics: bridge or alternate universe?

Meanwhile, the comics Season 10 is continuing and actually coming to an end — earlier than I expected — with #25, expected for June 2015, and with the last collected volume (Vol.5), expected for September-October 2015. However, it’s already more or less officially confirmed that after a break there will be a Season 11! With about 10,000 (physical) issues sold each month and in the Top 10 of IDW’s sales, the X-Files is a success for IDW, along with good reviews and the low production costs associated with comic books. Hence all the side publications: we’ve already had a Lone Gunmen spin-off, an origin story, an Annual and a Christmas special, and reprints of all the older Topps comics, and there’s a table board game, a short story (prose) collection and a Millennium arc to hit stores in 2015 — and potentially more coming, as editor Denton J. Tipton has said that despite a break between XF seasons there will be XF-related material coming out every month. And it’s quite obvious by now that all this is done with just Carter’s permission but essentially without any of his creative input. If it starts around the end of this year, another 25-issue season would take us well into 2017.

X-Files — and Millennium? — comics still have a long future.

However, with the new developments of an on-screen XF revival, where do these comics fit into the picture? Carter was supportive but ambiguous (how odd?!) on whether he thought of them as canon. There are three options:

  • Comics ignored: As excellent as they are, it’s hard to think that FOX executives and the creative team would “constrain” themselves with comics — they might not even constrain themselves with the live series, resulting in inconsistencies! — and there’s been a recent precedent with a much longer lived Extended Universe, with the “de-canonization” of nearly everything Star Wars since the 1980s! So the comics would continue, sadly as an alternate universe.
  • Comics taken into account: Carter and Harris agree on the comics orientation and make the events of the comics nicely dovetail into the revival event, like season 5 and FTF. Great! Although, how the schedules of the comics publication (with Season 11!) and the revival align would be a challenge.
  • Comics are neutral: Comics and revival follow their own lives, with the revival event airing during the Season 11 publication, but they end up not contradicting each other. Joe Harris is free to complexify his mythology as long as it doesn’t touch upon whatever the revival will touch upon, and fans have to fanwank events in a chronological order.
  • Comics are the source: A fourth option is that the mini-series becomes a live adaptation or is partly inspired by the comics — unlikely, but who knows? Joe Harris is also involved in feature film-making!

Even if you are bitter from the later seasons and/or IWTB… there are some exiting times ahead!

PS: I wrote most of this article days after The After was cancelled; I only had to change few things to include the FOX announcement! The XF revival has been preparing in the background throughout 2014!…

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Dec
23
2013

So what’s Carter and Season 10 up to?

A number of interviews with the creative team behind XF and Season 10 have popped up lately, and they have been very revealing on how Season 10 came to be and where it is headed: Joe Harris at Things From Another World; Chris Carter at MTV; Chris Carter, Joe Harris and Denton J. Tipton (IDW editor) at Nerdy Show.

Carter projects: Coming in February 2014

Chris Carter is finishing post-production of the pilot of his next series, “The After” (extensive coverage here). It will ‘air’ online at Amazon Prime in February 2014, before a decision is made to order a full series or not. Below: a photo from the shooting (from Back To Frank Black).

980019_10152703908233484_2037687657_o

And in parallel he’s developing the story for another show for AMC (extensive coverage here).

From MTV:

Carter has also been busy with non-X-Files material. He’s finishing up a pilot for Amazon called “The After” which, according to the new studio, “follows eight strangers who are thrown together by mysterious forces and must help each other survive in a violent world that defies explanation.”

Then there’s the super-secret AMC project he’s working on. “I wrote a script that I got a good response to,” Carter said. “Right now it’s still in the development stage.” Regarding the subject matter, Carter only conceded that it has something to do with conspiracies. Seems like he’s heading back into familiar territory.

And so this is where we are, precisely one year after December 22nd 2012, the would-be date of the alien invasion that Carter burdened himself with by referencing it in the X-Files finale. Eleven years after that finale, what we get on making Dec-22-2012 the ‘end date’ for XF3 is this (from Nerdy Show; major troll on Chris’s behalf!):

“I think that’s a significant date, but… there was this idea that we would shoot for 2012, I always though that was a mistake and I’m glad that date is passed.”

Below, a Flukeman commission by Michael Walsh… who didn’t do the art for #6-7!

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Season 10: “Am I vague enough for you?”

It appears IDW first got the idea for the comics with the 20th anniversary of the series and approached FOX. Joe Harris was hired to write up ideas. Eventually Carter got involved, and steered Harris away from certain plot points, and gave Harris certain feedback for what became the first story arc, “Believers“. After that, Harris sends Carter drafts for review but by the sound of it Carter has little to say and lately hasn’t even had time to go through them (he seemed unaware or forgot that monster-of-the-week type issues were upcoming!). Whatever Carter prevented Harris to cover in “Believers” is something that Carter hopes to use in a potential third XF movie, and this territory is off limits for Harris for the foreseeable future (incidentally meaning that Harris is aware of certain story elements of that XF3!). And this is how Season 10 is evolving, Carter being ‘executive producer’ but essentially giving Harris free rein to do whatever he wants apart from dealing with certain specifics — we suspect resolving the William issue, or actually making colonization happen. And if, if XF3 happens, Harris hopes that they will manage to have the comics storylines nicely fit into and lead to the movie. Which is nice for coherence’s sake, but also means that Season 10 is, in some ways, bonus adventures/side distractions/stand-alone material, before the grand finale that is as yet unrevealed. Enjoyable, but somewhat frustrating!

Some quotes from MTV:

Carter: “I’d never been involved in the comics before because I had no time and really no inclination,” Carter explained. But when he heard what was being planned for the series, he offered to step in. “I think they’ve been doing a really good job,” he said. “I like that there are characters coming back, they’re bringing characters to life, and that tickles me.”

And from Nerdy Show:

Carter: “It’s really Joe who is driving this […] a product of his imagination […] IDW, they’ve taken the lead, they’ve taken the reins”

Carter: “Even though we are calling it ‘season 10’, it’s a comic book season 10″Carter: “If there ever were going to be a third movie, we wanted to preserve certain things that wouldn’t corrupt that opportunity”

Harris: “Chris and I have talked about a potential third movie and what that would entail, or what that would address, what that would contain, and I am very mindful of that, and leaving a lot of space. I don’t want the comics to get into that specifically at all. If and when that is to materialize I’m pretty confident we could make it all work.”

Joe Harris at TFAW:

TFAW: How large will Scully’s son William figure in the overall series?

It’s all a mystery, wrapped in a puzzle, inside of an enigma. William is, obviously, a core concern for Mulder and Scully — for Dana, especially. And the events of our opening “Believers” arc didn’t do anything to lessen that.

But William is also a dear concern for Chris Carter, and I know he has business he wants to get to on that front, himself. So we’re touching upon things where appropriate, and when expected . . . but we’re being careful for other, very cool reasons too.

TFAW: Can you give us any hints about the alien invasion, or whatever else is coming next?

JH: If I told you about “the alien invasion” Chris Carter would excommunicate me . . .

Joe Harris interview for Comic Book Resources (video, text highlights). On XF Season 10:

It’s totally in continuity with the blessing of series creator Chris Carter. He has overseen everything I brought — he’s even offered some tweaks to make it better and preserve some things he wanted to preserve; mysteries he might want to tackle later at some date. It’s totally in-continuity, they are the present-day adventures of Mulder and Scully. It draws on everything we know, it continues the mythology while — I’d like to think — adding something new, so it’s not completely retro.

Bonus: another short video of Joe Harris on #5 and #6.

IDW Season 10: Changes in the team

Michael Walsh, who did the art for issues -5 and #8, will not be returning for more — for reasons unknown (perhaps the lukewarm reception his art got, arguably, although he has been engaged to another series, and he said in an audio interview for Comicbook Noise that he might return occasionally, but not as the main artist. Issues #6-7, #9 and #10 have some guests artists with Elena Casagrande, Greg Scott and menton3, however it appears that none of them will be the regular Season 10 artist: that one will be revealed with issue #11! Jordie Bellaire, who worked with Walsh, will be returning for colors.

There are changes on the covers side as well, with Carlos Valenzuela leaving after issue #9 and Francesco Francavilla arriving with #10. Comics Alliance has an interview with him.

Issues #8, #9 and #10 — and beyond!

The solicitations for February and March are out:

February 2014: Issue #9 is a single-issue arc. Writer Joe Harris: “It’s my first, original “Monster of the Month” (a term I’m taking sole credit for) story and it’s utterly disgusting, I’m sorry.” Exciting — although I’m worried 22 pages might not be enough!

The X-Files: Season 10 #9
Joe Harris (w) • Greg Scott (a) • Carlos Valenzuela (c)
“Chitter” A missing persons investigation leads Agents Mulder and Scully into a disgusting mess of human sacrifice, enough bugs to keep your skin crawling long after the issue is over, and The X-Files’ newest “Monster of the Month.” But what is “The Chittering God,” and why does it hunger for Dana Scully?
• 32 pages • $3.99
Ask your retailer about the menton3 variant cover!
Our first issue to feature an original “Monster of the Month”

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March 2014: Issue #10 is also a single-issue story, and it returns to the mythology in a bigh way. Joe Harris teases us at length:

Issue #10 is a quasi-sequel to one of my favorite X-Files episodes, Season Four’s “Musings of a Cigarette Smoking Man,” which presented a potential, speculative history of everyone’s favorite nicotine addict and X-Files foil.

Keeping in that tradition, we’re going to fill in some more blanks — some of which line up with what we know of X-Files and “Mytharc” continuity, and others that just won’t make much sense when you lay them over times, dates, events and relationships we already know — while attempting to tell a story that both serves as a love letter to that classic Glen Morgan-penned and James Wong-directed episode, as well as a springboard toward our next big “Mytharc” storyline kicking off in issue #11.  On the surface, this will appear to be a throwback story… but if you read between the lines, or panels (and if we do our jobs correctly!), you’ll learn a few things about our current, “Season 10″ rendition of the Cigarette Smoking Man, get some hints as to the nature of his unexplained resurrection following his demise at the end of the show’s final season, as well as learn a bit more about what amounts to a neo-Syndicate that’s popping up to make Agents Mulder and Scully’s lives difficult all over again.

Menton3 is joining us on interiors this time around (while providing another ‘Retailer Incentive’ cover), and this issue also marks the debut of the the amazingly talented Francesco Francavilla as series cover artist!

The X-Files: Season 10 #10
Joe Harris (w) • menton3 (a) • Francesco Francavilla (c)
“More Musings of a Cigarette Smoking Man” The ubiquitous foe of Agents Mulder and Scully has returned from the dead, raising many questions and burying many answers. Find out more about his resurrection, along with his past, in this special stand-alone story, which sets the stage for the next big story arc!
FC • 32 pages • $3.99
• Ask your retailer about the menton3 variant cover!
• Special standalone story featuring the “Cigarette Smoking Man”!
• Eisner-winning cover artist Francesco Francavilla begins his run as the regular cover artist!

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Some art by Walsh from the upcoming #8 (original and with colors):

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Walsh: Did some traditional grey washes on some pages from this issue. Quite happy with how they turned out, I’ll probably incorporate this technique in to my work again down the road. As always Jordie did a great job colouring

Could that be a flashback featuring X?

This looks like it’s from #8 as well:

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And also a commission by Walsh that… we’re not likely to see inside the issues:

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And, Joe Harris on TFAW:

As a fan, is there a scene you’re just dying to write?

Oh hell yes. As I’m always scanning through old episodes, I make note of little hooks and references that might later work their way into a Season 10 story and cement us a little more within the mythology.

There’s a lot I’m looking into right now, and I really don’t want to reveal and spoil anything here. But I can give you two examples of moments and bits that would ring some bells with the fans, and which I really want to illustrate as either the center of an upcoming issue, or in a scene somewhere down the line, etc.

The first involves Mulder’s trip to a Washington, DC “head shop,” as mentioned in the Stephen King co-written episode, “Chinga,” where he ends up buying the iconic “I Want To Believe” poster that hangs on his basement office wall. I mean, can you imagine Mulder browsing through the bongs and glass pipes before he gets to the blacklight posters and patchouli?

The other involves Monte Propps, the killer who was the subject of young Fox Mulder’s famed work as a profiler before founding the FBI’s “X-Files” division, and who was mentioned in the very first episode of the show. I’d like to expand and expound upon that bit of lore a little at some point, too.

And I’d love to show more of Mulder and Scully’s past, at some point, if it works within the context of what we’re doing in the present.

These flashbacks do sound like something we could see in #8.

TFAW: Can you give us any hints about the alien invasion, or whatever else is coming next?

JH: If I told you about “the alien invasion” Chris Carter would excommunicate me . . .

But I can tell you that we’ve got lots of hooks and permutations of the X-Files “Mytharc” to explore, and new conspiracies to dig into. Lots of old friends, enemies, and characters difficult to classify as one or the other will be returning . . . some in unexpected ways, with motivations and secrets that keep this a forward-leaning series, rather than just a trip down memory lane.

We’ve got everyone’s favorite monster, Flukeman, returning in a two-part sequel to the immortally beloved Season Two episode “The Host” beginning in issue #6, and Mulder’s mysterious informant “X” makes a return from beyond the grave in issue #8.

Issue #9 is going to spotlight our first original “Monster of the Month” that I’m super excited to reveal. It’s going to be a pretty creepy experience, I can promise you that.

After that, we’re going to expand on the presumed history of everyone’s favorite nicotine addict a bit, both as a love letter to one of my favorite episodes, “Musings of a Cigarette Smoking Man,” as well as an uncovering of some new details regarding the mystery of CSM’s reappearance in the pages of The X-Files: Season 10.

And all of this will propel us toward the next big, shocking multi-part storyline beginning in issue #11.

And Harris in the Nerdy Show:

“We’ve got a five-issue mythology story arc starting with issue #11. And after that we’ll be into year two of the Season 10 series being published, and I’ve got a few new ideas for single-issue monster stories and short two-part arcs as well”

Other releases: Volume 1, Conspiracy and Annual

The X-Files Season 10 Volume 1 was released on December 18 2013. It is a hardcover collecting the first five issues of the seriess, i.e. the “Believers” arc. This is the version that will be circulated widely, be translated — usually comic publishers go with collecting 6 issues in trade paperbacks, but IDW sees big with XF! IDW seems to be continuing the trend of collecting 5 issues, as Volume 2 has been announced for April. This also has an impact on the way stories are written and over how many issues they are spread over: Volume 2 should have “Hosts“, “For the Benefit of Mr. X“, “Chitter” and “More Musings of a Cigarette-Smoking Man“, and Harris has said that the next big mythology arc should be spread over issues #11-15 (i.e. Volume 3!).

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Joe Harris is continuing to sell his XF scripts!

Alongside Season 10, IDW is continuing the X-Files: Conspiracy series, which is the cross-over of the Lone Gunmen with other big franchises (announced here). Two issues are released per month, with awesome covers by Miran Kim and others. Now that they have Miran Kim back on XF, as she used to do the covers for the Topps comics in the 1990s, why don’t they have her do some interior art as well? There is also an interview by Conspiracy writer Paul Crilley at Comic Book Resources.

February:

The X-Files: Conspiracy: TMNT—SPOTLIGHT
Ed Brisson (w) • Michael Walsh (a) • Miran Kim (c)
The Turtles are doing their best to avoid trouble in Northampton. Unfortunately, trouble finds them in the form of the Lone Gunmen! The fate of the world depends on the Gunmen getting the reclusive Turtles’ help. Add in an undead menace and things are going to get downright dangerous!
• 32 pages • $3.99
The X-Files meets the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles!
Written by Ed Brisson (Comeback, Secret Avengers)!
Art by The X-Files: Season 10 artist Michael Walsh!
“Tabloid Newspaper” Variant Cover by Joe Corroney!

The X-Files: Conspiracy: TRANSFORMERS—SPOTLIGHT
Paul Crilley (w) • Dheeraj Verma (a) • Miran Kim (c)
The Lone Gunmen’s trail of secrets leads them to evidence of extraterrestrial life—mechanical extraterrestrial life! Will OPTIMUS PRIME and his allies trust these human interlopers—and what secret conspiracy could involve CYBERTRON, anyway?!
• 32 pages • $3.99
Written by Conspiracy architect Paul Crilley!
Art by Transformers: Fall of Cybertron artist Dheeraj Verma!
“Tabloid Newspaper” Variant Cover by Joe Corroney!

March:

The X-Files: Conspiracy #2 (of 2)
Paul Crilley (w) • John Stanisci (a) • Miran Kim (c)
The event of the year concludes here! The Lone Gunmen have finished investigating several urban legends—a group of ghost-hunters, mutant turtles that live in the sewers, shape-changing alien robots, and a vengeful spirit from beyond the grave—after receiving Internet files from future that foretell a plague that wipes out most of humanity. Now it’s a race against the clock as the Gunmen, with Agents Mulder and Scully, attempt to save the world!
FC • 32 pages • $3.99
• The event of the year sees characters from The X-Files interact with the Ghostbusters, Transformers, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, and The Crow!
• Ask your retailer about the Joe Corroney “tabloid” variant covers for each issue of the event!
• Each issue has a special subscription variant that depicts famous conspiracies with a new twist!

The X-Files: Conspiracy: The Crow
Denton J. Tipton (w) • Vic Malhotra (a) • Miran Kim (c)
Bernard is a decorated state policeman in love with his partner. But their romance is brutally cut short when both die following a high-speed pursuit and fiery car crash involving the Lone Gunmen. Bernard inexplicably awakens to find himself resurrected by an otherworldly crow and with only one thing on his mind: vengeance.
FC • 32 pages • $3.99
• Art by Vic Malhotra (Joe Hill’s Thumbprint)!
• Ask your retailer about the Joe Corroney “tabloid” variant covers for each issue of the event!

As for April, as revealed in the Nerdy Show podcast, we are to expect an Annual for the X-Files, a once-a-year event, graphic novel-style stand-alone story, that will be scripted by none other than Frank Spotnitz (XF’s Number 2) and Gabe Rotter (Carter’s assistant and now producer on Carter’s next show The After)! This is some news, more and more 1013 alumni are joining IDW’s effort! Back in 2008-2009 around the release of I Want To Believe, Spotnitz had contributed in writing 3 issues of XF comics for the 7-issue run of the XF comics for Wildstorm. Many times over, Spotnitz had hinted on his official site that there were more comics coming, but that never materialized. Specifically, it had been announced in July 2009 that “Frank is at work on another original “X-Files” comic book to be co-written by Gabe Rotter, director of development at Ten Thirteen Productions and author of the novel, “Duck Duck Wally.” Look for the book to hit the stands early next year. [2010]” So I am guessing that this 2009 story idea is what will make its way to this IDW Annual.

Reviews

There have been many reviews, in particular with Season 10 moving into different types of storytelling (monster of the month) and as it gets better circulation with the first collected volume:

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Aug
11
2013

XF at SDCC 2013, Part 2: Season 10

Part of the San Diego Comic Con is still about comics, and IDW at SDCC 2013 was there to promote The X-Files Season 10, of which #2 came out the day before the con. Chris Carter and Gillian Anderson, present for the TV Guide panel, also participated on the IDW panel, along with IDW Editor-in-Chief Chris Ryall, XF Season 10 Editor Denton J. Tipton, XF Season 10 writer Joe Harris and Lone Gunman and conventions regular Dean Haglund.

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From left to right: Tipton, Ryall, Anderson, Carter, Harris.

The X-Files Season 10 IDW panel was somewhat covered in the press (less so than the TV Guide panel, the audience was also smaller):

Articles: Badass Digest | Wired | Joe Harris’ blog | Comic Book Resources (very detailed!)

Video: Part 1 | Part 2

Audio (bad quality, but includes Chris Ryall’s intro and an awesome joke on X-Files #3)

Interspersed below are also drawings from Michael Walsh, who has continued to tease with art from the next issues on his Instagram account — with a lot of Scully!

XF Season 10: More or less canon?

SDCC was the opportunity to ask Chris Carter repeatedly about the future of the X-Files, his role as executive producer of Season 10, and how do these new comics articulate with his vision for a potential third X-Files feature film.

More below the jump!

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Aug
07
2013

XF at SDCC 2013, Part 1: XF3, BluRay, Carter projects

More than any other event earlier this year, and I expect more than any even for the remainder of 2013, The X-Files‘ 20th anniversary was celebrated at San Diego Comic Con International 2013. The size of the event and the media coverage it got is the reason why this was a key event. The big panel was hosted by TV Guide, the second panel by Season 10 comics publisher IDW, and then there were of course signings and pricey photo shoots.

X-Files’ 20th anniversary

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This was the biggest cast & crew reunion since the Paley Festival in 2008. From right to left: host Michael Schneider; Chris Carter; David Duchovny; Gillian Anderson; James Wong; Glen Morgan; John Shiban; Darin Morgan; Howard Gordon; Vince Gilligan; and out of frame, David Amann (photo from syzzlyn). From the writing team, you could say that all the people who shaped the show were there, apart from Frank Spotnitz (in Europe, busy with other projects) and Gordon’s writing partner Alex Gansa. As would be expected in such media-intensive events, the focus was much more on Anderson and Duchovny instead of the rest of the creative team — given how short the panel was, some of them only spoke once!

Video of nearly the full panel

Video of the full panel

Host Michael Schneider posted a kind of “making of” of the whole event, which is a very entertaining read but is also revealing. The panel was organized by TV Guide, and within TV Guide, Schneider played an essential role: in inviting people and handling the organization of the event on the day. The involvement of FOX is nowhere to be seen apart from their mere approval. Still, we guess that they were watching, gauging interest in the X-Files to see if it has a future. The fans were certainly there!

More after the jump.

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Jun
22
2013

Take Your Greatest Fear And Multiply It By X

One and a half decade ago (!), June 19 1998, “The X Files Movie“, better known by its main tagline “Fight The Future” premiered in the USA and Canada! (…and only in those countries on that day! That was a time when studios and audiences were less globalized and it felt like film reels had to cross the ocean by steamboat before reaching you. Release dates spread from June 19 to December 5!) Season 5 had just wrapped up, the show was so successful that FOX was willing to abide by the lead’s desire to move production from Vancouver to the more expensive Los Angeles, and Chris Carter was playing the Deep Throat informant with his fans: this was the high point of the show’s life.

Interestingly, 15 years later the same date was chosen for the launch of Season 10 of the X-Files in comics form. The same XF logo variant that was first introduced with Fight The Future is also used for Season 10, instead of the classic “typewriter X” of the show’s opening titles that was used for the Topps comics.

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In rememberance, the definition of 1998, the year of Fight The Future, with Noel Gallagher’s Teotihuacan!

A day to celebrate! Let us hope Season 10 will be a worthy extension of the franchise.

For this occasion, X-Files News offers us a short interview with Chris Carter (which was done, apparently, some time in May or earlier in June):

XFN: You said once that Mulder and Scully were the light in dark places. What does it say to you that after 20 years, Mulder and Scully remain in the consciousness of so many people? 

CC: “I’m blown away by the show and the character longevity. David and Gillian struck a deep chord with their portrayals.”

XFN: Reminiscing about when this great ride started, we’ve read earlier versions of the pilot that included a character named Agent Drazen. Do you remember what your plans were for this character and why he didn’t make it to the final version that was eventually produced? 

CC: “I remember writing that character as a minor foil. He was named after a director. He and Scully’s boyfriend, played by Tim Ransom, didn’t make the cut, though Drazen disappeared before we shot. Something that’s not well-known is at the end of the pilot when Mulder calls Scully and she answers the phone in bed, her boyfriend’s beside her.”

XFN: Thinking back to the first day of filming the Pilot or even the whole shoot in Canada, is there a memory that strikes you about this first episode? 

CC: “I have many memories, but the casting of Billy Miles comes to mind. We saw many actors before Zach Ansley came in and nailed it. I also remember how hard it was to stage the abduction sequences, with minimal special effects.”

XFN: When you think of everything that you have accomplished what is the most rewarding moment of your career so far? 

CC: “We were honored by the WGA yesterday as one of the 101 best-written TV shows of all time. That is pretty amazing.”

XFN: We miss having a Chris Carter show on TV, what can you tell us about your latest projects? 

CC: “I’m working on several different scripts for several different networks. The TV business is very exciting right now.”

XFN: There have been rumors that Fox is planing something for the 20th anniversary of The X-Files, what can you tell us about that? 

CC: “I don’t know that Fox is planning anything, but I did hear this week that they’re bringing the series out in HD! Wow.”

XFN: It’s been heard through the grapevine that the show is being remastered to be released on Bluray, just like they’ve done with Star Trek. Is there anything you can tell us about this ambitious project?

CC: “I don’t think you’ll see the series in Bluray, but anything is possible.”

XFN: We’re really excited about the release of fresh stories via the new X-Files comics, but we’re curious, how will they fit between The X-Files: I Want To Believe and what we hope will be XF3? What can you tell us about this new stage? 

CC: “The comics will pick up after the end of the second movie. Look out for some surprises, though. And trust no one.”

XFN: The unavoidable question – X-Files 3, When? What? How? The fandom is there, the timing it still there… What is the missing piece to get this project up and running? 

CC: “XF3 will happen if the studio wants it to happen, and only then.”

XFN: You attended the Insect Fear Film Festival in February and attended The X-Files screening planned as the closing event for the Hero Complex Film Festival. What do you enjoy about these events and meeting fans of the show after all these years? 

CC: “I’m always struck by how generally nice and respectful X-files fans are. It makes it a pleasure to do these events.”

The XFN Quick 6: 

Favorite Food? Rufina’s chile rellenos
Favorite Word? Yes
Favorite X-Files Quote? Too many to choose!
Guilty pleasure? Wouldn’t you like to know.
I wish I had invented… A foolproof lie-detector
Dream Job/occupation: To surf one wave as Kelly Slater.

Thanks so much to Mr. Carter for the opportunity, and Mr. Gabe Rotter for your assistance during this interview!

This interview offers several insights.

First, after several rumours, this is the first official declaration that a HD version of the series is being prepared! An HD version would be used for broadcasting in modern TV sets, this is why Carter separates that item from a BluRay release in a somewhat puzzling remark — however once FOX will have an HD version there is no reason whatsoever not to release it in BluRay.

Second, he does tease Season 10 — but this is the only time he has done so, leaving principal writer Joe Harris to do all the promotion. This might also reflect the two creators’ relative contributions to Season 10, meaning that Carter is very little involved in this project beyond very generic indications. Joe Harris has been acknowledging and praising Carter’s contributions in all his interviews, however some of his replies sound like kind attempts to downplay Carter’s importance in the series. Carter’s participation as “executive producer” in Season 10 was/is a big marketing argument on behalf of IDW and is the only argument that makes this effort part of canon. His presence behind the scenes and absence in front might mean that this effort is not very important to him, or that we are witnessing a definitive passing of the torch.

Thirdly, Chris Carter’s characteristic few words and careful choice of words and what that says for Season 10 and a potential X-Files 3. All his answers were one-liners, he didn’t say anything more than the bare necessary and didn’t spend time on this interview more than was necessary. If he wanted to, if he really wanted this Season 10 project to happen, he’d be all over it. He has never been particularly extroverted as a character or internet-savvy, which is fine. But there are plenty of things he could do. In comparison with other creators who nurture their fanbase and know how to communicate and raise interest for a project that is close to their heart (Joss Whedon, Guillermo del Toro, JM Straczynski just to name a few) there’s a world of difference. He’s not particularly vocal on his other projects either. One possible reason for this is because he has become too afraid or weary of being the subject of attention and criticism, too averse to the idea of failure or of lack of acceptance from critics and fans. The hard work he poured in the X-Files and in “I Want To Believe” and the flood of criticism he got with the latter seasons of XF and with IWTB have taken their toll — the fact that he was hospitalized for exhaustion in September 2008 after a summer of promotion of IWTB is telling. He would like to step away from the spotlight, and that is perfectly fine, but he doesn’t seem keen to strongly defend his projects either. Perhaps, after “protecting his territory” by sticking with the X-Files after season 7 (his contract would end) throughout seasons 8 and 9 and all the way to IWTB, he has decided to relinquish some creative control and let the story go where it may. For the past five years, Carter and FOX have been playing ping-pong on whom the responsibility lies for launching the production of an XF3. If this relinquishing of control finally means that Carter is willing to let go of the idea of an XF3 and focus on other things, I’ll follow him on his next projects but I would just like him to be honest with the future of the things he’s created and stop this politically correct game of expectations.

Happy Summer Solstice!

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