Technology Aug 14, 2026 · 1 min read

R-rated director's cut of X-Files film restores Chris Carter's original horror vision

Chris Carter chats with Ars about the film he originally wanted to make—and why it's more relevant than ever.

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Ars Technica
by Jennifer Ouellette
R-rated director's cut of X-Files film restores Chris Carter's original horror vision

There is a lot of excitement and some trepidation among The X-Files fans about Ryan Coogler's reboot for Hulu, currently in production. While we're waiting, Hulu just released Chris Carter's revamped (and R-rated) director's cut of the 2008 standalone spinoff film The X-Files: I Want to Believe, distinguishable from its predecessor with a slightly different title: The X-Files: I Want to Believe–Vrach Frankenshteyn.

(Minor spoilers below but no major reveals.)

I Want to Believe received mixed reviews at its release and didn’t exactly light up the box office, but it still grossed $68 million against its $30 million budget. By 2015, the project led to the return of The X-Files as a limited-run TV series, with the six-episode season 10 debuting in 2016. Mulder and Scully were reunited 14 years after the events of season 9 as the FBI reopened the X-Files under Assistant Director Walter Skinner (Mitch Pileggi). The response was strong enough to warrant a follow-up ten-episode season in 2018, focusing on Mulder and Scully’s search for their missing son, William.

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This article was originally published by Ars Technica and written by Jennifer Ouellette .

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