After starring in the 1993 American sci-fi drama television series – The X-Files created by Chris Carter, David Duchovny turned into a sensation following his role as the FBI agent Fox Mulder, alongside Gillian Anderson’s Dana Scully. Following the success of the show, the duo repeatedly sought to reprise their roles and revive the seminal series.
However, David Duchovny often refrained from returning as Fox Mulder. But ever since there was news of an animated spinoff being developed, the actor addressed fans’ questions about his return. Replying with a thoughtful and funny answer, Duchovny explained why he had been hesitant all this while.
Will David Duchovny Return as Fox Mulder?
David Duchovny and his co-star Gillian Anderson took on the role of the FBI agents Fox Mulder and Dana Scully, respectively, in Chris Carter’s 1993 iconic sci-fi series The X-Files. Running for eleven seasons, the show entertained fans with its engaging storyline where the characters investigated unexplained, mind-bending cases.
Despite being one of the longest-running sci-fi series in network TV history, when Chris Carter‘s The X-Files ended, fans and audiences got agitated and started bugging the director and the producers for a spin-off. After decades, in 2020, there came news of The X-Files creators developing an animated spinoff to revive the show.
However, David Duchovny didn’t appear quite interested in returning as Fox Mulder. During an interview on The Discourse podcast, the actor spoke about his decision to reprise his role. Claiming that his answer depends on one condition – the stories being told by series creator Chris Carter, Duchovny explained that he won’t return for money.
David Duchovny Explained His Hesitancy
Acknowledging fans’ desire to see more of Fox Mulder and Dana Scully, David Duchovny gave a thoughtful and funny answer about whether he would return in the spin-off. Humorously explaining his hesitancy, the actor stated that his return depends a lot on the quality of the stories being told.
“I can’t really answer that question. For me coming back, it’s always like, ‘Well, what are the stories? What’s the reason for being at this point?’ I mean, there are many reasons for being. One of them might be because people want to see it. Another would be that Chris [Carter] or someone that Chris knows and likes says, ‘Oh, I’ve got a story to tell! Check this out – this is how we could do this now.’”
Stating that the “world has changed” and in no way can they return as their previous characters and “do it the way [they] did before”, David Duchovny explained his hesitancy. Dissing The Rolling Stones for telling the same stories for 80 years, Duchovny claimed that he doesn’t want his reprised role in The X-Files spin-off to be like the outlet.
“How do we change with it? If you could make the pitch to me and said, ‘Let’s do it this way now,’ which is kind of how I got back in the last time…You’re going to play this guy in his thirties and his sixties. That’s an interesting challenge, but you don’t want to play it the same way. You don’t want to tell the same stories because that becomes kind of weird and obscene.”
“You don’t want to be the [Rolling] Stones still writing about making out with girls in the back seat of a car when they’re eighty years old. I mean, you could do it, and you could make a lot of money at it, but part of you would die.”
Finding no interesting way of bringing back the characters to fit today’s world, David Duchovny refrained from returning. Even Gillian Anderson agreed with Duchovny and clarified remarks that she’s not interested in portraying Scully again.
