The X-Files Creator Chris Carter Reveals He Still Wants to Finish Mulder and Scully’s Story

Few sci-fi dramas have left as lasting a mark on pop culture as ‘The X-Files,’ and even decades after its debut, fans are still hungry for answers about where Mulder and Scully’s story ultimately lands. The franchise has had no shortage of chapters, from its original nine-season run to a pair of feature films and two additional revival seasons.

That hunger for closure has only grown louder as talk of a new take on the franchise, helmed by an entirely different creative team, continues to build momentum. With so much unfinished business hanging over the original mythology, fans have wondered for years whether creator Chris Carter still has more story left to tell.

According to a new interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Carter confirmed that he does, in fact, still have a “bigger plan” for Mulder and Scully that he hopes to eventually reveal. Speaking about the criticized ending of the show’s eleventh season, Carter explained that everything fans saw, including some deeply divisive choices, was building toward something larger.

“I think I didn’t give the audience what they expected,” Carter said in the interview with The Hollywood Reporter. “And that is left to come. There are four episodes and the last two reboots that were all part of a bigger plan that I hope to reveal to X-Files fans if and when we should do another reboot.”

Carter didn’t shy away from addressing just how much backlash certain story choices generated, particularly the season 11 finale twist revealing that Scully was pregnant. “There was a big revelation at the end of the season finale in season 11 that Scully is pregnant. Some people were horrified, outraged. They hated me,” Carter said in the interview with The Hollywood Reporter, framing the moment as part of a longer game he’s still hoping to complete.

He also defended the broader creative instincts behind those controversial choices, arguing that delivering exactly what fans expected was never really the goal. “There’s a point at which you need to deliver on a promise. And I wanted to deliver more than the promise. I wanted to give them what they least expected,” Carter said in the interview with The Hollywood Reporter, adding that the plan, while confusing at the time, will eventually “make sense.”

All of this comes as Ryan Coogler continues developing his own reimagining of the franchise for Hulu, working alongside showrunner Jennifer Yale on a project that reportedly stars Danielle Deadwyler and Himesh Patel. Carter made clear he has no intention of stepping on that project’s toes, positioning his own potential return as something separate rather than competitive.

“The thing that was unexpected, but now highly anticipated, is the Ryan Coogler reboot. I don’t want to do anything to compete with that. I don’t want to do anything to get in the way of that. I don’t want to play off of that,” Carter said in the interview with The Hollywood Reporter. “I want to continue to tell and finish the story arc that I have in mind.”

That distinction matters for fans trying to parse what exactly might be coming next. Coogler’s version is being developed as a reboot with a new, more diverse cast rather than a continuation featuring David Duchovny and Gillian Anderson, meaning Carter’s hopes for a Mulder and Scully return would exist as an entirely separate endeavor if it ever comes together.

For now, both projects remain in different stages of uncertainty, leaving longtime fans with two very different paths back into the world of the paranormal. Whether Carter ever gets the chance to close out his original vision remains to be seen, but his comments make one thing clear: he’s not ready to let Mulder and Scully’s story end where season 11 left off.

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