After the last X-FILES film completely dropped the ball and disappointed on a massive scale – at the box office, with its fans, with critics – it’s quite hard to imagine another entry going forth. On the other hand, I WANT TO BELIEVE was such an unsatisfying experience, it would be a truly crummy way to close out one of science-fictiondom’s most beloved sagas. Just wouldn’t be right. I don’t think fans would mind a do-over, and Chris Carter probably wouldn’t mind one either.
According to David Duchovney, the plan for retribution is already in motion. In an interview with the French site TVMag, the man who was Mulder mentions that a new chapter in the X-FILES world is currently being penned, and it will be closer to what the fans expect and want.
Here’s the quote from Duchovney (it’s been shakily translated from French): “It is being written. One awaits just the green light from Fox, a little scalded by the relatively poor reception of the second component. The error comes, I believe, that the authors had strayed too far from the very roots of the series. Moreover, the film was released in summer. The third will be much closer to what the public expects, with government conspiracies, etc…”
Of course, keep in mind that years prior to the second X-FILES movie coming out, we heard a hundred “It’s being written, it’s coming soon” stories from the usual parties… but it did eventually happen, so who knows? The last flick made about $70 million worldwide against a budget of $30 million, so it was a minor success, and leads one to believe that a better film with the same budget would be an even bigger one. (Let’s also not forget that I WANT TO BELIEVE came out right after THE DARK KNIGHT was swallowing everything in its path). There’s still an audience for the X-FILES, all Carter and company have to do is make the right movie for them…