David Duchovny and Gillian Anderson, starring as FBI agents Fox Mulder and Dana Scully, respectively, captured the popular imagination with their stints in The X-Files. The duo’s contradicting nature with the former a believer of paranormality and extraterrestrial happenings and the latter, a skeptic, laid bare a gripping plot that as they investigated cases that for long carried the labels of being unsolvable due to the inexplicable chain of events attached to them.
A major chunk of the series threw a tense and eerie atmosphere, captivating viewers to explore the unknown, giving the show a major boost as a cult favorite. Along similar lines, the Final Destination franchise also involves unexplained premonitions of the exact unfolding of incoming omens with no mentions as to who or why gave those visions. Clad in uncertainty, it should come as no surprise that these two franchises are indelibly related.
How The X-Files birthed Final Destination
Airing for an initial nine seasons from 1993 to 2002, The X-Files breathed life into the Final Destination franchise thanks to a rejected script. In a report by Slashfilm, it comes to light how Jeffrey Reddick, a spec writer for the David Duchovny and Gillian Anderson show came up with a spec draft for an episode titled Flight 180 that involved premonitions and would have ultimately dialed on the two detectives to look into the case.
After the scrapping, as fate would have it, the script reached the hands of other The X-Files writers, James Wong and Glen Morgan. Along these lines, Reddick had also received the backing of New Line Cinemas and soon everything went ahead in motion to turn that spec draft into a full-fledged script for a movie that would involve a faceless and formless killer whose sole warning would be premonitions.
Wong then took the task of handling the directorial helm, and along with the writers associated with The X-Files, gave wings to the first Final Destination movie, which dropped in theaters in March 2000. Soon enough, the outing went on to become a box-office success and evolved into a mega-franchise worth over $600 million that continues to this day.
The fate of the two franchises stands inter-connected
Moving ahead of their connected births, the two franchises of The X-Files and Final Destination have shared more than just their genres of horror thrillers. Both of them explore the concept of fate and whether it can be avoided. Additionally, death and inexplicability are the common running themes of the two franchises that pull it toward the supernatural and paranormal state of affairs, pushing the audience into curiosity and searching for answers.
Thereafter, with a similar cultural impact and hold on pop culture, the two movie series also head towards a similar fate in the coming years. The X-Files is gearing up for a reboot helmed by Black Panther director Ryan Coogler, which may introduce a diverse cast and overarching plots. On the flip side, marking the 25th anniversary of the franchise, Final Destination: Bloodlines aims to be the sixth iteration of movies and herald it for the next generation.
The X-Files is available to rent or purchase on Amazon, Google Play, iTunes, and Vudu whereas Final Destination is streaming on Apple TV and can be rented or purchased on Amazon Prime Video or YouTube.
