David Duchovny talked to Yahoo Entertainment about his pandemic-era novel, working with Meg Ryan, and why he'll always be interested in more 'X-Files', during his Seattle event honoring the release of his new novella, The Reservoir.
Gillian Anderson, who recently expressed her unhappiness with how the revival ended with Scully being pregnant again, was noted by the journalist when discussing The X-Files.
Did you know at the time that she wasn't happy with that storyline?
DD: No, that was the first I'd heard of it. Personally, I don't like to air creative grievances like that in public, so I was surprised to see it actually.
Are you up for more X-Files if the opportunity presents itself or do you think the most recent series was enough?
DD: I thought the first seven years were enough! But I'm always up for more, clearly. Someone sent me a clip of Joel McHale from the 2016 episodes we did, and it's a spot-on description of where we're at six years later. I don't think [X-Files creator] Chris Carter gets enough credit for being [prescient]. Forget about the ins and outs of plots and who gets pregnant or who gets shot. I mean, every show turns into a soap opera, so you have limited options. People are going to die or get pregnant or go to prison, right? Or become president.
I think like it's a little bit in the weeds to worry about character's fates, when you realize that Chris somehow made a show in 1993, and again in 2016, that predicted what 2022 would be like. If he wanted to do more, I'd certainly listen to him. I'd say, "What have you got?" Because I want to know the future, too, you know what I mean? And not denigrating Gillian's feelings about Scully being pregnant or the character. I certainly had misgivings about my character throughout the run. It's in the nature of a long-running thing. But to take the long view, what that show is able to embrace thematically is really the key to its longevity, and if we were to do it again, it's just a question of: "What have we go to say."