New Season of ‘The X-Files’ Taking Mythology to “A New Place” According to Creator

Resurrecting a seemingly finished franchise comes with many difficulties, as trying to create something familiar might not push the story to new levels and deviating too much from the norm will feel completely disjointed. The X-Files creator Chris Carter recently shared that, while the upcoming Season 11 brings together all of the integral components of the series, it brings with it new opportunities to explore new elements to add to the series’ mythology.

“We’ve added some elements. We’ve added some popcorn to it. We’re taking the show’s mythology to a new place, which we needed to do,” Carter revealed to Entertainment Weekly. “We’ve added humor in more than one place. There’s a darker comedy, one [writer] Darin Morgan idiosyncratic episode, a couple of excellent [writer] Glen Morgan episodes. We’ve basically put the band back together with some notable additions. We also have three credited women writers, two women directors — like everyone else we’re taking a more diverse approach.”

The previous revival of the series in 2016 lasted only six episodes, making it difficult to expand on the core series’ narrative while also offering fresh and unique stories. Season 11 consists of 10 episodes, which will hopefully allow for content to be structured more similarly to the original series.

Anyone who has chosen to revisit the original series, which began in 1993, will notice major changes in culture and society over the past 25 years, which Carter claimed will allow for interesting areas for the upcoming season to explore.

“This season deals with the zeitgeist in interesting ways. We push into technology in a futuristic way,” Carter pointed out. “The show has never been a futuristic show — it takes place in the here and now. While it’s a science-fiction show, I think of it more as a science show. And we push into technology in new ways.”

Whether we’ll ever see future X-Files stories after this season is still up in the air, yet Gillian Anderson‘s admission that this will be her final time portraying Agent Dana Scully causes some turbulence, which Carter addressed during an Ask Me Anything on Reddit.

“For me, the show has always been Mulder & Scully. So the idea of doing the show without her isn’t something I’ve ever had to consider,” Carter confirmed. “Was her character given a proper goodbye? I think you will want to sit down and watch the series finale very carefully.”

Tune in to the season premiere of The X-Files on Wednesday, January 3 at 8:00 PM ET on Fox.

[H/T Entertainment Weekly]