"The X-Files: I Want To Believe" R-Rated Director's Cut Gets New Trailer and Poster

A mostly poorly-received part of The X-Files history is about to get a new lease on life and the chance for redemption, with the trailer and poster reveal for a new R-rated director's cut of The X-Files: I Want to Believe.

What's Happening:

• Disney+ and Hulu have released the trailer for 20th Century Studios' The X-Files: I Want to Believe – Vrach Frankenshteyn, the re-titled director's cut of the 2008 X-Files feature film, The X-Files: I Want to Believe.
• The trailer first debuted at EW, and X-Files creator Chris Carter, who co-wrote (with Frank Spotnitz) and directed I Want to Believe, explained "We set out to make a real-life Frankenstein movie, and due to a variety of factors, our Frankenstein never completely left the operating room. A chance to apply the electrodes again was a special thrill.”

• Discussing his director's cut with X-Files star David Duchovny last year, Carter said “I made it too scary, and I was told so by the brass at [20th Century] Fox, and they wanted a PG-13 movie. Now I have a chance to go back and make the scary movie that I always intended ... 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.”
• In their press release, Disney describes Vrach Frankenshteyn (Russian for Victor Frankenstein) as the R-rated version "Chris always envisioned — a darker, frightening thriller exploring a real-life Dr. Frankenstein. The restoration gives fans a chance to experience a side of the film that has never been seen before.
• A poster was also released for the new version, which will debut August 14 on both Disney+ and Hulu, alongside the theatrical version as well.

• When it opened in theaters in 2008, I Want to Believe marked the first X-Files revival project since the original series wrapped up in 2002, reuniting original stars Duchovny and Gillian Anderson.
• Unfortunately, the movie was received with both notably weak reviews and box office, especially compared to the much more successful first feature film in 1998, which was filmed in between seasons of the TV show.
• As someone who recalls sitting in the Chinese theater in Los Angeles as one of about 10 people in a theater meant to hold about 1000, feeling profound disappointment watching I Want to Believe, I'm intrigued and hopeful for this director's cut, and to see just how different it is.
• Per the official longline for The X-Files: I Want to Believe – Vrach Frankenshteyn, "When a group of women is mysteriously abducted, it becomes a case right out of The X-Files. Years after walking away from the FBI, Fox Mulder and Dr. Dana Scully are pulled back from the shadows when a federal agent vanishes without a trace. In a case you’d never see on TV, their only lead is a disgraced, defrocked priest claiming to have horrific psychic visions of the crime. Forced to confront the ghosts of their past, the partners must navigate a chilling winter landscape and an even darker human monstrosity. The truth of these crimes is out there somewhere … and it will take Mulder and Scully to find it."
• Disney investing in this new version of part of The X-Files' past comes in the midst of a pilot episode being filmed recently for a potential new Hulu X-Files series starring  Himesh Patel and Danielle Deadwyler, featuring guest roles from Amy Madigan, Steve Buscemi, Ben Foster and more.
• Academy Award winning writer-director Ryan Coogler (Black Panther / Sinners) wrote and directed that pilot, making it seem like a near-sure thing for a series order, but for now, fans are still waiting to hear the official decision.