Six years have passed since "The X-Files" went off the air after nine seasons; fans agree that it left with a whimper rather than a bang, and ten years have passed since the first and only feature film. So the question of the day is: why a sequel? Why now? But perhaps a better question is "why not?" The fact is that FBI special agents Fox Mulder (David Duchovny) and Dana Scully (Gillian Anderson) always had vats of chemistry; they arguably outstripped and outranked any other male-female couple in the history of television. Their pairing was perfect: Mulder believed -- or wanted to believe -- in the supernatural while Scully was a scientist, a doctor and a Catholic who believed in God but looked for reasonable, logical explanations in everything. In each episode, the team was called in to investigate some kind of paranormal activity, and they debated and discussed the various possibilities behind each. In the end, hardly anything was ever proved or disproved.

The X-Files: I Want to Believe offers the viewer many mysteries to contemplate -- and only one of them is on-screen; as David Duchovny and Gillian Anderson return to roles and a franchise that last graced our TV screens in 2002 (and was last on the big screen in 1998), your mind swirls around the behind-the-scenes facts as fiercely as it does around the events playing out before your eyes. As reclusive, retired ex-FBI agents Fox Mulder and Dana Scully (Duchovny and Anderson) help the FBI with an abduction case, you're not following the plot as such; instead, you're thinking things like Hey, didn't this show get canceled six years ago? Haven't Duchovny and Chris Carter, the star and director of this film, both sued the studio behind it? Who, out in the movie going audience, is really clamoring for this movie? If you're an X-Files fan, is this film's freestanding creepy tale, with no link to the weird and convoluted mythos Carter came up with for the show, going to satisfy whatever itch you may still have for the franchise? And if you're not an X-Files fan, is the idea that this film stands alone enough reason to come to the franchise now?

This may not have gotten its own post were I not blogging here. But for better or worse I am, and so you get to read about Don S. Davis, who passed away on Sunday at the age of 65.

Davis is one of the many versatile, unheralded character actors to have moved through Hollywood in relative anonymity. I wouldn't say he was a phenomenal talent, though he was certainly very good, but it so happens that he played two pivotal roles on two television shows that, more than any other works of art, shaped my taste in movies and stories when I was a young teenager.

As Captain William Scully, Agent Scully's father, Davis was the heart of what may have been The X-Files' finest hour (as any self-respecting X-Files fan knows, the Season 1 episode in which he appeared was called "Beyond the Sea"). And as Major Briggs on Twin Peaks, he carried one of that show's creepiest, most memorable plotlines. Whenever he would appear, I knew I was in for another amazing Lynchian what-the-hell moment.

This week's Sex and the City movie is hardly the first cinematic continuation of a TV show, but there really haven't been that many. Usually when we think of film adaptations of TV series, we're thinking of remakes. But there are a few movies that pick up where their respective show ends, whether as a resuming story, a prequel or something totally random and barely connected.

And of course, we keep hearing about other possible series-to-film resumptions: Lost, 24 and Arrested Development movies have all been discussed, and they may indeed happen. So, while there isn't a long list of predecessors to model their transitions on, I've compiled seven titles that did it right in some way or another. Hopefully, for the sake of the fans of Carrie and co., Sex and the City will be enough of a success to make number eight.


Star Trek: The Motion Picture (1979)

People may enjoy the second installment best, but this is the one that started the film franchise, officially reigniting a series that had been canceled ten years prior. Though the original show had its share of fans, enough to eventually get this film produced, it wasn't initially considered a success. And interestingly enough, neither was the movie thought of as a complete hit, despite its $80 million gross and the fact that it spawned another ten film installments (and additional series).

In the event that an Arrested Development movie gets made, it could be seen as similar to Star Trek, since the TV show was initially a failure yet it has gained a larger following since its cancellation, enough to call for production of a feature follow-up. However, there's also a good chance that it will also be a failure on the big screen, like was Serenity, the cinematic continuation of the TV series Firefly.
tion more than simply an adaptation.

This just in off the AP: This summer's X-Files flick has finally been given a proper title. Wanna know what it is? Of course you do -- it shall be known as The X-Files: I Want to Believe. 20th Century Fox signed off on the title today, and that's what they're going with. Fans of the television series will recognize the slogan 'I Want to Believe' from a poster Mulder (David Duchovny) had hanging in his basement office where he and Scully (Gillian Anderson) worked.

On the title, director Chris Carter said, "It's a natural title. It's a story that involves the difficulties in mediating faith and science. `I Want to Believe.' It really does suggest Mulder's struggle with his faith." It's an appropriate title on many different levels; ever since the show went off the air, fans wanted to believe it would make a comeback on the big screen. And it did. The first film came and went, and since then fans have wanted to believe that Mulder and Scully would one day reunite -- either on the small or big screen. That day will finally come on July 25th, when The X-Files: I Want to Believe arrives in theaters.

What do you think of the new title? Speak ya mind folks -- speak it!

Sorting through all the email we received today, our friends over at XFilesNews turned us on to three brand new images from the untitled X-Files movie hitting theaters this summer. No, it's not a direct sequel to the film that came out 10 years ago -- apparently, this one is a stand alone story that -- knowing Mulder and Scully -- has to do with something weird, creepy and other-worldly. See, folks have been keeping a real tight lid on the storyline for this flick, and it seems all we get are images of people on ice, digging, screaming, running -- what have you. BUT, these new photos might reveal a little more. Either that, or someone is trying to have a little fun with us.

(We're about to take a closer look at one of these images, so spoilers might follow ...)

Okay, so see this image above of Mulder (David Duchovny) standing up, looking at something, someone with a bunch of papers and crap hung up behind him. Well, click on the photo in the gallery below to see a larger version. NOW look at the title of the newspaper article in the background. What does it say? "FBI Arrests Modern Day Frankenstein Doctor." Could this new film have something to do with ... Frankenstein!!! Dun Dun Dun. I'm not as up on my X-Files knowledge as some of you are, so discuss away ...

The X-Files arrives in theaters on July 25.

(Note: Above image was chosen totally at random. Yup. We'll go with that.)

It's beginning to look a lot like summer blockbuster season everywhere you go.

I've heard the words "calm before the storm" mentioned more times in the past week than I have all year. That's because it's almost April, which means the official start to the summer movie season is only one month away. One month! That's it! Are all of you as excited as we are? (Don't all stand up and cheer at the same time.) Anyway, pretty much all of the big summer flicks have released trailers by now (with the exception of The Mummy 3 ... and maybe something else that I'm forgetting -- it is Monday after all).

We've seen trailers for The Dark Knight, Iron Man, Speed Racer, Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, The Incredible Hulk, WALL-E, Prince Caspian, Hellboy II, The X-Files, Wanted, The Happening, Hancock ... and so on. Of course, some films have been a little more aggressive than others -- like Iron Man (which comes out first), WALL-E (a few trailers, teasers and a very early viral campaign) and The Dark Knight (one teaser, one trailer and 50 billion viral sites). Indy's shoveled out a bunch of videos, as well as a trailer, and The Incredible Hulk has given us one trailer and a few images. One imagines all of these films will ramp up their marketing as their release dates draw closer.

But here's our question today: Which summer blockbuster trailer pumped you up most to see the film? Feel free to answer the poll below or write in your favorite in the comments section. (Me? I'm going with The Dark Knight.)

Oh, X-Files. There was a time in say, 1996, when the sight of these photos would have sent me racing to the official X-Phile board, logging in under my screen name IMScully33 (and yes, if you see it in the AICN Talkbacks -- that is me), and engaging in excited speculation.

Now I can only rouse a mild interest in these spy photos, courtesy of Flynet Online and fresh from the set of The Untitled X-Files Sequel. It's my duty to warn you of spoilers (although I pretty much gave it away in that title) but I have to say. . .is this really a spoiler? Didn't Mulder and Scully have sex off-screen and produce a child, thus rendering this pretty unexciting?

The time for them to kiss was back in X-Files: Fight the Future -- and you let us down, Chris Carter. Stop trying to make up for that off screen consummation!

This truly causes me pain. It brings to mind my blissfully misspent youth, which I spent pondering aliens, conspiracy theories, and buying all those episode guides. I was even a Scully lookalike at the tender age of 17. (I even appeared in an issue of The Official X-Files Magazine. I was that good.) In so many ways, The X-Files helped make me the geek I am today -- and also the bitter cynic who sits snarking on this post now. I want it to be 1996 again so I'm actually excited by the release of a second X-Files movie, and sighing over the possibility that two brilliant and lonely FBI Agents will get together.

It's been so long since I last saw an X-Files episode that I haven't the tiniest recollection of how the series ended. So, it isn't surprising that I'm a little confused about the plot of the upcoming X-Files movie sequel/series spin-off. The guys at Moviehole have the scoop on some heavily spoilerific details on at least the first half hour of the untitled XF2*. Apparently it involves more aliens, a "Frankenstein-type" doctor, body snatchers, missing persons and a hostage situation being investigated by some new FBI agents we've never met before, including one who might serve the bureau as the "new Mulder". There's also another main agent character that might be played by Lance Henriksen, despite the fact that the actor has previously been on the show as his Millennium character, Frank Black. According to Moviehole, there's no sign of Mulder and Scully in the first-act synopsis given to them by "a little green man," which would certainly be a problem were it to be true.

Imagine an X-Files movie without David Duchovny and Gillian Anderson. Or, even one that didn't feature them prominently. Obviously, this is not the case with XF2; it's probable that they will indeed be re-introduced early on in the movie and will appear a lot throughout the first act in their own part of the grand scheme of the plot -- the synopsis shared with Moviehole is likely just the subplot that doesn't involve them, perhaps because it's being shot first and/or separately. Anyway, as always, the truth is out there, somewhere, and it's only a matter of time before we hear what the real deal is. Moviehole additionally reports that casting is currently happening in Canada, so hopefully we'll hear some news on that soon, as well. As we previously learned, the movie is supposed to begin shooting in December and is set to hit theaters next July.

*UPDATE: Apparently the plot/character details are incorrect and director Chris Carter is merely using old character descriptions in order to more-secretly cast for XF2. Thanks to all the commenters for pointing out the correction.