Will there ever be another X-Files movie? Though FOX is releasing a six-episode X-Files “event series” later this month, fans have long wondered whether Mulder and Scully's big-screen adventures are officially over after the second film, 2008's X-Files: I Want to Believe, turned in a disappointing performance at the box-office.
Though there's been no movement on a third feature since then, one person who seems keen on making another film is David “Mulder” Duchovny, who stopped by to chat with us at last night's red carpet premiere for the new series, which debuts on FOX January 24. For his part, he said he's “perplexed” as to why there's been no movement on another movie.
“It was always perplexing to me, because it was a homegrown franchise, it wasn't one of these lame comics that you had to dig up and reboot,” said Duchovny. “It was actually a good show that you could make a good movie out of, rather than a crappy comic that you would make a good movie out of. So I never got it. I never understood why Fox wouldn't have treated it with more excitement and respect in a way.”
Speaking of I Want to Believe, Duchovny indicated his displeasure with the studio's release strategy around the film, which he believes was hampered by a smaller budget (the reported production cost was $30 million) and a release date that fell in the midst of the summer blockbuster season. Indeed, in its first weekend the film went toe-to-toe with Christopher Nolan's hugely-successful The Dark Knight, which had hit theaters the week before.
“It was put out against Batman and summer blockbusters, and it just didn't look like that,” he said. “So you can't like dress it up like it's a summer blockbuster and send it out there as a $35 million indie film, basically. So we were shot in the foot in a way by our budget. I think if we were to go back [to make another movie], you want to make it a big event. You know, kind of the way we can do it on television. We can be that big on television. If you wanted to make a movie, you'd have to do the same.”
For more from Duchovny, including what sold him on doing the new series and his favorite X-Files episodes, you can watch the full interview above and below.