‘The X-Files’ Big Split Is Done ‘In An Interesting Way,’ Says Chris Carter

It seems that The X-Files revival will continue to keep fans questioning the relationship between Mulder (David Duchovny) and Scully (Gillian Anderson), as the six-episode miniseries begins, but how will it end? To start with, Chris Carter says that Fox Mulder and Dana Scully, who were last seen going off to face the darkness together in The X-Files: I Want to Believe (2008), will not start out as endeared to one another as fans of The X-Files might expect.

“We do it in an interesting way,” The X-Files creator Chris Carter told The Hollywood Reporter. “We play with that relationship [in the event series]. We put some of the tension back in that was relieved by them being together. It added to the storytelling opportunities. It’s something that I came up with; I had been thinking about it. There was always talk of [breaking them up] if we did another movie.”

When The X-Files first premiered, the characters of Mulder and Scully couldn’t have been more different with Scully’s scientifically-inclined mind determined to debunk the work of paranormal enthusiast Fox Mulder, but as time went on, the lines blurred and so did the emotions complicating their platonic relationship.

It wasn’t until Season 7 of The X-Files that any kind of romance was really confirmed on the show and that revelation came with the news that Scully was pregnant, but even then, The X-Files took the full season to reveal that Mulder was the father. According to Cinema Blend, the addition of baby William made the connection between Fox and Dana that much more vital, but as it turns out, that sense of urgency won’t play a factor in The X-Files revival, since the characters have moved beyond the baby William plot some time ago.

Mulder and Scully were even living together when they returned in The X-Files: I Want to Believe, and although the issue of dealing with Father Joe certainly tested their relationship, Mulder and Scully ended up working through it by the end of the film.

Now, even David Duchovny couldn’t be compelled to reveal how Dana and Fox might finally end things when he and X-Files co-star Mitch Pileggi were faced with the question at Pittsburgh’s Wizard World Comic Con.

“In the beginning of these six episodes, we seem to be estranged,” Duchovny said. “I don’t know where it’s going. I really don’t know. I’m trying to think [what was] the end of the sixth episode … ”

“Can we say maybe yet to be determined?” Pileggi interjected. “Is that appropriate?”

“It’s yet to be determined,” Duchovny said.

Chris Carter also commented on the feeling of accomplishment he’s felt from finishing up the six-episode revival of The X-Files, though the showrunner is amazed that everyone was able to put out so many episodes for the original nine-year run of The X-Files.

“We just wrapped the six episodes, and I look and I see that we did 202 episodes of the show,” The X-Files‘ Carter said. “I honestly don’t know how we did it. I was exhausted by the end of these six episodes. I think what the show benefited from a lot of youthful energy. I always say about the show that we didn’t know what we couldn’t do, so we just tried everything. And luckily, we had the people working with us, and for us, that always gave it a shot.”

The X-Files revival is scheduled to premiere on Sunday, January 24, 2016 on Fox.

[Featured image: David Duchovny and Gillian Anderson courtesy of Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation/The X-Files: I Want To Believe]