Screen Rant is reporting/speculating that Fox will only distribute the film but not produce it, which means they don't have to use show creator Carter and can maintain the rights to the franchise. The supposed director? Brett A. Hart, who has one movie under his belt on imdb, Bone Dry.

Hart even told Screen Rant that he'd do the whole thing for free:

As a tremendous admirer of "The Millennium Series" I'm of course very intrigued by the recent rumors that there may indeed be a full length feature on the horizon. If any one can get "Millennium" made its Lance and it's been a long time coming. It's time to give the fans what they've been patiently waiting to see… More insight into the aberrant world of Frank Black… while further elevating and merging storylines, characterization and visuals… and finally closure for one of the finest series ever created. Let's hope as the title sequence suggests "The Time is near"… and As I've already publicly stated… my passion and conviction for the series is so deep that I'd direct "Millennium - The Movie" for free just to see it on the big screen.

I may not have enjoyed Chris Carter's last X-Files movie, but I certainly respect the creator's vision and tremendous body of work. No offense to Hart, but let's not just throw this film away before it even has a chance, some people liked Millennium. Plus if you're going to make money off of Carter's creation, you gotta pay the piper. But of course this is all mere speculation at this point.

Maybe that pigeonhole is bigger than we thought. Duchovny commented in a recent interview with Sci Fi Wire:

I never thought of The X-Files as science fiction. I always thought of it as playing this character in this world. The world was recognizable to me. It wasn't The Jetsons. It was present time. You couldn't fly. You couldn't transport our bodies over a teleport and all that stuff, so it was the real world, and it didn't feel like sci-fi to me.

Point taken — but, uh, remember your UFO poster? That room full of bug-eyed green fetuses? The computer that developed free will? (Not to mention the abducted sister, the abducted partner, the alien worm virus, the malevolent slime, the supernaturally strong clones ....) That's science fiction, buddy. And there ain't no shame in it.

We've gotten into trouble before playing genre-labeling games, but in the spirit of Michael Chabon, it must be said: Science fiction is, indeed, just good storytelling, with far-out ideas that are backed by what we know of the universe so far — and it spurs us forward to discover more. As Duchovny put it later in the interview, The Dark Knight suffocated theaters this summer (and is now suffocating joyful DVD and Blu-Ray players everywhere); there's a reason for that. Science fiction is for everybody, and it's here to stay.

Duchovny definitely understands that last bit. Though most non-Philes seem to be pooh-poohing the idea of any more Mulder and Scully, he's still into it:

I always talk to [X-Files creator] Chris [Carter] about how fascinating today it would be to take this guy from his early 30s and let's take him into his mid-50s, late 50s. Maybe nobody wants to see 60-year-old Fox Mulder, but we can grow him. We can take him through life's hardships and changes. It doesn't have to be this cartoon where nothing changes. You can actually form the flow of this movie and the expanse of this show to embrace actual passage of time and what that does to a person and relationships. To me, that's interesting as an actor and as a person. As an intellectually based character, you don't give a damn what he looks like.

Well, to a point. As long as Old Fox Mulder doesn't look like the freakishly speed-aged Doctor from "The Last of the Time Lords," I'm on board.

Duchovny Still Believes in X-Files [via Sci Fi Wire]

Image from Scificool.com.

In an interview with IGN, Chris Carter explained that:

"We love the alien storyline too, but we felt coming back this time — when a story like this was not only true to the series but allows us to focus on Mulder and Scully more, you don't have to deal with all the complications in the alien storyline. But if there were to be more films — and we're not at all taking it for granted that there will be — but if there were that's something we would definitely want to get back too..."

So...how'd that go Chris? I know people love Mulder and Scully (so do I) but the reason I love them is not as a result of these two sitting down and talking about "their relationship." I don't need to imagine what the X-Files would be like with out the actual X-Files, I was given it in 2, and no thanks. The part that made you love these crazy kids was the suspense and drama. Fox is hot because he's always saving Scully and vice versa — plus they push each others buttons, even when being attacked by an alien spacecraft. It's the relationship after being frozen, beaten and abducted, the parts they piece together in the wake of trauma, that make it a love that will stand the test of time. Take that love out of X-Files and you have a drama about two middle aged nobodies, who are unhappy with everything.

So praise be to Skinner, if they're going to make another, make it about aliens and for martian's sake bring back cancer man.

[IGN]

Both early reviews, at Ain't It Cool News and Voize, agree that the movie is kind of boring and emotionless. Writer/director Chris Carter has said in many interviews that he wouldn't allow the cast to have full copies of the script, to guard against leaks. And as a result, the cast appear not to know what's supposed to be going on in the movie, leading to flat, dull performances. Not a lot happens in the movie, and it feels like a TV episode padded out to 90 minutes.

But the feelings of major dread come from reading the spoilers in the AICN review. If true, they make the film sound truly hideous. First and foremost, Billy Connolly's psychic priest character, Father Joe, is a convicted pedophile who's been defrocked as a result. The FBI agents are forced to work with him because he holds the key to finding a kidnapped FBI agent, through his psychic connection with her. It's sort of a Clarice/Hannibal situation, except that Father Joe's pedophilia isn't dealt with meaningfully. And the movie hints that the victims of pedophiles are more dangerous than the pedophiles themselves.

Also, Scully mentions rather casually that her baby is dead, as a convenient way to let her and Mulder sally forth without worrying about a kid. And it's also mentioned in passing that the FBI has stopped chasing Mulder and Scully, even though the charges against them were never dropped. It's just mentioned, but not really explained. There's a subplot about Scully's administrative duties at a hospital that goes nowhere. There's a weird sight gag involving a picture of George Bush and a picture of J. Edgar Hoover, which falls flat. More importantly, the movie supposedly has a third act that verges on unintentional comedy.

[Ain'tItCoolNews and Voize]

The trailer includes rapper/actor Xzibit ordering what appears to be a search party over a snowy terrain and Callum Keith Rennie (Leoben from BSG) giving you the old shifty eyes. Between the little girls trapped under the ice, crazy Bill Connolly's blood-hued eyes and the predictable emotional tension between Mulder and Scully it could turn out to be a solid X Files. [Movies Online and IGN]

And here are those viral videos:

Fox Mulder on Dana Scully:

Dana Scully on Fox Mulder:

Here's the blurb for the movie novelization, which is written by Max Allen Collins (creator of Miss Tree, the greatest comic book character ever):

When a group of women are abducted in the wintry hills of rural Virginia, the only clues to their disappearance are the grotesque human remains that begin to turn up in snow banks along the highway. With officials desperate for any lead, a disgraced priest's questionable "visions" send local police on a wild goose chase and straight to a bizarre secret medical experiment that may or may not be connected to the women's disappearance. It's a case right out of The X-Files. But the FBI closed down its investigations into the paranormal years ago. And the best team for the job is ex-agents Fox Mulder and Dr. Dana Scully, who have no desire to revisit their dark past. Still, the truth of these horrific crimes is out there somewhere...and it will take Mulder and Scully to find it!

• Show creator Chris Carter hadn't had much success in television writing, having written mostly comedies and worked for The Disney Channel, before he was offered a chance to create shows for Fox.
• Carter was inspired to delve into the mysterious world of The X-Files by both the Watergate scandal, the old television show Kolchack: The Night Stalker, and a report that was circulating around 1992 that said 3.7 Americans "may have been abducted by aliens."
• Originally, Fox executives wanted someone blonder with big boobs instead of Gillian Anderson. Thankfully they didn't win that fight.
• The company Carter formed to run the production was called Ten Thirteen Productions, after his October 13th birthday. Sound Designer Thierry Couturier's son says the "I made this" over the company logo.
• Fox left Carter and his production team alone for the most part during the first season because they were putting a lot of time and effort into The Adventures of Brisco County, Jr. Now, as a Bruce Campbell fan, I have to say I loved that show, and I'm glad it was able to take some heat off of The X-Files.
• The writing staff didn't want to follow Carter's all-alien abduction storylines, especially since the UFO show Sightings was airing on Fox. As a result, the show "Squeeze" with the creepy guy who ate livers, hibernated for 30 years and had Plastic Man like stretching abilities became a template for the "freak of the week" style the show eventually adopted.
• Besides the pilot episode, Carter also wrote "Space" during the first season, which was about a ghost in the Space Shuttle program. It was extremely expensive to make, and Carter calls it "one of the worst hours ever produced for the show."
• The show often fought for its life during the first season, having low ratings and a Friday night timeslot. Despite finishing 102nd out of the 118 programs in the Nielsens that year, it was picked up for a second season. This is why the season one finale "The Erlenmeyer Flask" has the X-Files being shut down, and Mulder and Scully being reassigned.
• The X-Files' opening sequence was nominated for an Emmy, and the theme song was remixed and became a hit in dance clubs in the UK, Australia, and France.
• The legendary writing team of Morgan and Wong, who were also co-executive producers, wrote many of the best episodes in the first season, although they left in season two to produce their own show Space: Above and Beyond. Sadly it tanked after one season, although Morgan and Wong didn't return to The X-Files until season four.
• The show didn't actually show an alien until the "Little Green Men" episode in season two.
• Gillian Anderson was pregnant throughout season two, and the producers decided to hide the fact by having her behind a desk or a medical exam table most of the time. It helped that she'd been transferred to Quantico to teach.
• By the end of season two, the show had climbed to 64th out of 141, although it was gaining cult status and spreading fast by word of mouth. The show had also spread beyond the U.S. borders, and was one of the most popular TV shows in the world, outside of the country.
• The show was also named the best show on TV by Entertainment Weekly that year, and also won a Golden Globe for best drama.
• However, the show was still so budget strapped that they couldn't afford location filming, and in the episode "Ascension," a rock quarry had to be painted to look like the desert of the American Southwest.
• Season three brought on a cavalcade of comedy, and a slew of guest stars including Alex Trebek, Jesse Ventura, Giovanni Ribisi, J.T. Charles Nelson Reilly, Walsh, R. Lee Ermey and Jack Black.
• Guest star Peter Boyle won an Emmy for his portrayal of a man who could predict death in the episode Clyde Bruckman's Final Repose, and the show also won for best writing.
• The show went on to win five Emmys that year, and Gillian Anderson won a Screen Actors Guild Award. By now The X-Files was here to stay.
• Season four premiered to their highest ratings ever, and Carter's new show Millenium (set in the X-Files universe) was put on Friday nights, so they moved The X-Files to Sunday night.
• By the fall of 1996, it was the most popular show on Fox, and Fox got the rights to broadcast the Superbowl. So, they decided to feature an episode right after the game, and "Leonard Betts" (about the guy who could regrow his body) received the highest ratings ever for an X-Files episode. More awards and kudos followed.
• Season Five opened to even bigger ratings, and the show was supposed to end there and become a series of feature films. However, Fox desperately wanted to keep the show, and worked out a new contract with Carter.
• Carter had been planning a feature film versin of the show ever since season two, and security was so tight that they were sending the script around on red paper, which would make it unable to be photocopied.
• They filmed the X-Files movie, X-Files: Fight the Future, inbetween seasons four and five, although it ended up pushing the start date for season five back, and as a result that season was two episode shorter, with only 20 instead of 22. It was code named "Blackwood" after Algernon Blackwood, a British writer of ghost stories.
• By season five, the two main stars were also becoming popular, and as a result many episodes featured either Scully or Mulder, and not usually both of them together. This was to allow them time to concentrate on other projects.
• Season five also featured episodes written by guest writers, including Stephen King and William Gibson.
• By the end of season five, both Anderson and Duchovny wanted the show to move from Vancouver to Los Angeles (where it was originally supposed to be shot), and so the sets were struck and production moved at the end of the season.
• X-Files: Fight the Future opened in 1998, although it wasn't a smash success. The movie grossed around $189 million worldwide, which recouped their reported $126 million dollar budget (with advertising figured in), but not by much.
• The movie takes place right inbetween seasons five and six, and season six picks up right where the movie left off.
• At the end of season five, the X-Files were once again closed, but then reopened in season six. However, new agents Spender and Fowley were assigned to them, and Mulder and Scully were given a new boss.
• Season six was seen as the "beginning of the end" for several reasons. There were several episodes which hardcore fans considered too comedic, like the gated community episode "Arcadia" or the two-part body hopping episode starring Michael McKean as Morris Fletcher. Also the move from Vancouver to L.A. seemed to alienate fans as well.
• However, the show was Fox's most popular again that year, and pulled in more awards. But, the wheels had been set in motion.
• David Duchovny left the show after season in part due to contract problems and feeling the need to "move on." Scully's role was dialed back as a result, and new agents John Doggett (Robert Patrick) and Monica Reyes (Annabeth Gish) were introduced.
• Doggett and Reyes had some good episodes, but the show had lost a lot of it's hardcore fans and was turning into a sinking stone.
• For the season nine episode "The Truth," most of the cast returned and ended the season, and the show, on a cliffhanger. Sadly, they finished third in their timeslot, pulling in less viewers than their original pilot episode.
• In 2001 Fox introduced The Lone Gunmen spinoff show (which I must admit I am a huge fan of), although it only ran one season. The first episode had the unfortunate plot of hijackers trying to fly planes into the World Trade Centers, although it was filmed before 9/11. They were eventually (supposedly, I hope) killed off in season nine of The X-Files.
• The X-Files has a long-lasting legacy, having inspired shows like Smallville, Torchwood, and even Alias. You can buy the entire mammoth nine season set with the Fight the Future movie (but sadly, no Lone Gunmen disc) for just about $150 bucks right now. As a fan, I'll tell you up front that the packaging sucks on this set, but the contents are more than worth it.

Carter kicked things off by saying the film was worth the wait,"Because it will scare the pants off you. You'll see Mulder and Scully again in a whole new way."

Suddenly a bunch of adolescent girls behind us started yelling at Duchovny, "Can you give us your pants?" Sadly he did not oblige. A fan asked asked about the X-Files and 9/11 controversy. (For those who don't know, the pilot episode of X-Files spinoff The Lone Gunmen is about a plot to crash a hijacked plane into the WTC.) Carter passed the question to Spotnitz, who said:

We were really upset, and worried that somehow we had inspired the plot. But we were relieved to discover that the plot pre-dated The Lone Gunmen, and that 9/11 had nothing to do with our work. And then once we realized that, my next thought was how the government hadn't known about this plot. There have been a lot of conspiracy theories about the connection between 9/11 and The Lone Gunman, but none of them are true.

There was lots more we could have done but we ended at the right time. Things had changed after 9/11... and now the mood is right once more.

Anderson said it was hard to get back into character. "I had a really bad couple of days. I thought it would be really easy to step into it and I actually sucked for 48 hours."

Carter said, "I've always thought the series was a search for God."

Anderson said:

One of my favorite episodes is Bad Blood. Probably because it's one of the only episodes I remember. It was each of our ideas of what took place in an event, and we both got to play the other person's perception of ourselves. So I was moody and bitchy and David was going on and on and on [with the talking].