The X-Files: I Want to Believe Director's Cut Finally Hits Disney+ This June

Right, let’s get this out of the way – for people of a certain age, The X-Files basically is 90s TV. Yes, it got a bit wobbly near the end, and the revival seasons weren’t exactly essential viewing, but few shows have had more of an impact. And with all the recent buzz about Ryan Coogler working on a full-blown reboot, it’s a good time for fans (and the vaguely curious) to check back in. But before we get to Mulder & Scully 2.0, Disney+ will be dropping something that might actually matter to long-time X-Philes – a proper, no-nonsense Director’s Cut of The X-Files: I Want to Believe is heading to streaming on 11 June.

This isn’t just another lazy re-release

Polygon spotted this one first: Disney+ quietly added a page announcing The X-Files: I Want to Believe Director’s Cut, promising a cut that’s distinct from whatever was quietly slapped onto DVD back in 2008. For anyone doing a double take, yes, this is the notorious second X-Files film – the one that arrived a decade after Fight the Future, got absolutely panned, and now lingers on Rotten Tomatoes with an eye-watering 32% score from literally everyone.

It’s the one where Duchovny, Gillian Anderson and Mitch Pileggi all returned. But instead of shadowy government cabals or black oil aliens, it’s monster-of-the-week territory: they’re chasing down a missing FBI agent with help from a disgraced priest (Billy Connolly, weirdly), who claims he’s having psychic flashes that can help. Not especially loved on release, and, to put it politely, not the career high anyone wanted.

Why bother? Because Chris Carter finally gets his way

The interesting twist here is – for once – there’s a point to this director’s cut. When the film came out, series creator Chris Carter revealed that it didn’t exactly turn out as he wanted. According to Carter, he had something far more chilling in mind. Fox, not loving the scary vibes, told him to 'make it PG-13,' and every time he adjusted, the ratings board demanded it still be tamed down.

'We thought, OK, we’ve satisfied their demands. The critics, the people who rate the movies, said, no, it’s not a PG-13 yet, you’ve got to cut it back even farther. I can tell you that you can do more on network television… [the censors are] more permissive than they are for the movies.'

That’s Carter speaking on David Duchovny’s 'Fail Better' podcast last year. He went on to reveal the studio finally gave him the green light to assemble his own proper cut. As he tells it:

'Now I have a chance to go back and make the scary movie that I always intended to make. It's not just doing a Director's Cut to do a Director's Cut. It’s really kind of bringing to life something that, for me, was on the page and never got to the screen.'

What’s actually different?

There’s no official runtime yet, but this version apparently goes beyond the standard 104-minute theatrical edition, and isn’t the 2008 DVD cut either (which only added a paltry four minutes). Supposedly, this is Carter properly restoring all the stuff that had to be left on the cutting room floor. Will that make it a lost classic? Let’s not get ahead of ourselves, but at the very least, it should be a curiosity for fans who felt the original was a toothless cash-in.

Reminder: the cast was still fantastic (even if the film wasn’t)

• David Duchovny as Fox Mulder
• Gillian Anderson as Dana Scully
• Mitch Pileggi as Walter Skinner
• Billy Connolly as Joseph 'Father Joe' Crissman (yes, you read that right – Billy Connolly, in full tragic mode)

If you’re genuinely curious (or just feeling masochistic), the Director’s Cut lands on Disney+ June 11th. If you’d rather just relive the glory days, every full series episode is already on Disney+ (or Pluto TV, if you don’t fancy paying). Who knows, maybe Chris Carter’s real vision will surprise us all – or at least give us something to argue about until the next reboot comes along.