The X-Files made a triumphant return to the small screen in early 2016 with a Season 10 revival. Original series leads Gillian Anderson and David Duchovny reprised their iconic roles as Agents Scully and Mulder for Season 10, and both signed on for the Season 11 that is slated to premiere in the 2017-2018 TV season. While we have yet to see even a single episode of Season 11, some are already wondering if Gillian Anderson would be game for more after the next batch. We don't have a definitive answer at this point, but she made some comments at the recent New York Comic Con that could point toward her leaving the red hair and badge behind in the not-too-distant future.
When asked if she was open to continuing as Dana Scully after Season 11, Gillian Anderson had this to say:
No, no, I think this will be it for me.
Gillian Anderson's comments at New York Comic Con indicate that she doesn't see much of a future for herself as Scully, but fans don't need to start panicking just yet. Screenrant reports that Fox has already stated that Anderson "has not commented on returning" because it is "premature in that she is currently filming the new event series." We shouldn't take what Anderson had to say at NYCC as a definitive statement about whether or not she would reprise her role as Scully beyond Season 11. Anything can happen, as it seemed doubtful for a while that she would sign on for Season 11 at all. She could well return after Season 11.
From what we know so far, Season 11 will be a rough ride for Scully (and Mulder). The X-Files creator Chris Carter recently revealed that their child William will play a huge part in the next batch of episodes, which means that the show will almost certainly deliver on the William tease of the Season 10 finale. Of course, based on everything that happened to poor William basically beginning with Scully's discovery of her pregnancy, we can bet that trouble is on the way. Apparently being sent away from his trouble-attracting parents wasn't enough to spare him from everything.
A new photo was recently released that revealed Scully is going to be back in the hospital yet again, and the way it was staged seemed like a troubling callback to when Scully was hospitalized after her abduction way back in Season 2. The abduction was arguably the event in Scully's life that really gave her a deeply personal investment in the investigations into the government conspiracies, and an awful lot of bad things have happened to her in the years since. If the staging of the photo is a deliberate callback, we can bet that Scully is in for some serious trouble in Season 11.
The first trailer for The X-Files Season 11 has hit the web, so check it out if you want a closer look at what's to come:
Fox has not yet announced an official premiere date for the new season of The X-Files, although we do know that it will be at some point in early 2018. For what you can watch in the meantime, take a gander at our fall TV guide. If you're now in the mood for a rewatch of the original series, you can catch the first 9 seasons streaming on Hulu.
