The X-Files is reportedly making a comeback yet again after its recent lackluster revival.
According to Bloomberg, the popular 90s sci-fi show is in the running for what sounds like a reboot, with Disney eyeing a "new version" from Black Panther director Ryan Coogler. However, what form that will take remains to be seen.
After 11 seasons and two movies, The X-Files stars Gillian Anderson and David Duchovny have put in plenty of time as Agents Dana Scully and Fox Mulder. Whether or not they return in the upcoming show remains to be seen. However, Anderson herself recently suggested a lot would have to change for her to consider another return.
“It just feels like such an old idea. I’ve done it, I did it for so many years, and it also ended on such an unfortunate note,” Anderson said. “In order to even begin to have that conversation [about another season] there would need to be a whole new set of writers and the baton would need to be handed on for it to feel like it was new and progressive. So yeah, it’s very much in the past.”
The X-Files originally debuted back in 1993 and revolved around FBI agents Mulder and Scully as they investigated unsolved paranormal cases.
Channeling the likes of The Twilight Zone and Tales from the Darkside, the show was an instant hit and has seeped into pop culture consciousness ever since. In many ways, that’s a blessing – a revival would have a built-in fan base eagerly awaiting new episodes. However, it also has to meet expectations.
Unfortunately, the recent 2016 revival found that out the hard way, with Season 11 becoming the least-watched series in the show’s history with an average of 5.34 million viewers per episode. To put that into context, Season 5, at the height of the show’s popularity, pulled in 19.8 million viewers per episode.
IGN’s X-Files Season 11 premiere review gave it 5.5/10 and said: “X-Files' Season 11 premiere had all the hallmarks of fierce Files lore - vast conspiracies, shadowy smoking figures, silent assassins, big reveals - but it all came off as 10 pounds of ‘truth’ in a five-pound bag. Clumsy, harried, and hacky.”
Want to read more about The X-Files? Check out how 90s TV gave us the golden era of television as well as the recent book that revisits one of The X-Files’ best episodes.
Ryan Leston is an entertainment journalist and film critic for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter.
