An updated version of the truth is out there — and streaming on Disney+ come Aug. 14.
Almost 20 years after releasing the second film in his TV and movie franchise, The X-Files creator Chris Carter has recut The X-Files: I Want to Believe (now titled The X-Files: I Want to Believe – Vrach Frankenshteyn) to give his devoted fanbase the version he set out to make. Leaning harder into the standalone mystery, a contemporary retelling of Dr. Frankenstein, the new version amps up the horror elements that 20th Century Fox and the MPA wanted removed from the film in 2008 to give it a PG-13 rating. “Unlike most director’s cuts, I didn’t throw in everything but the kitchen sink,” says Carter. “It’s actually shorter than the original. I hope it finds a wider audience, and I hope I give fans what they wanted.”Since the release of the original I Want to Believe, Carter has twice revisited The X-Files. Revivals in 2016 and 2018 are canonically regarded as the 10th and 11th seasons of the original series starring David Duchovny and Gillian Anderson as special agents Fox Mulder and Dana Scully that ended in 2002. Speaking earlier in August, Carter says the trio still isn’t finished telling their story — though when and how they return depends a lot on what Ryan Coogler does with his take on the material. (The Sinners filmmaker shot a pilot for an update of The X-Files for Hulu earlier this summer.) Carter also spoke about sparring with executives back in the day, his skepticism over those Congressional hearings about UFOs and his unique relationship with his very vocal audience.
