Gillian Anderson is "Really Serious" About Being Done with THE X-FILES and She Explains Why She's Leaving
I've seen some X-Files fans say that they hope Gillian Anderson's comments about leaving the series weren't really serious. I'm one of those fans, but it turns out that she's very series. So serious, in fact, that she won't even entertain the idea of coming back to the franchise to play Agent Scully ten years from now.
During the Television Critics Association press conference (via /Film) she explains how serious she is about this decision and explains why she wants to walk away:
"No, this is it for me. I’m really serious. I have so much respect for these guys and I have respect for Scully and I have respect for David [Duchovny] and it’s really sad, but I’m finished and that’s the end of that."
I can't help but think that she's annoyed by repeatedly being asked if she's really leaving the franchise. She goes on to say that she gave it a lot of thought and why she came to the conclusion that she did:
"I arrived at the decision before we did the previous six [episodes]. But I was really curious. I thought that the previous six was going to be it. It was dipping our toe back in again and just meeting up again and making the most of it and getting to play these wonderful characters again. I think as Chris has said himself that that short stack of episodes kind of felt like we were learning how to walk again, and that 10 feels like the pace is up and we’re running. But before we did these 10, I did think that that was going to be it. Why? There’s lots of things that I want to do in my life and my career. It’s been an extraordinary opportunity, an extraordinary character. I am hugely grateful, but there’s lots of other stuff I want to do and I don’t really want to be tied down to months and months of doing any particular one thing that I feel like I’ve done. That’s why."
David Duchovny then chimes in and says he's good if the series ends, and he's good if the series continues.
"I’ve tried to say goodbye to Fox Mulder many times, and I’ve failed. They did a show without me, so how do you like that? I’m good either way. I’m good with this being the end. I’m good with it not being the end."
Creator Chris Carter previously said that if Gillian is out, then he doesn't want to continue the series.
"For me, ‘The X-Files’ is Mulder and Scully. I think if it were without Scully, I wouldn’t do it. That’s not my ‘X-Files.'"
The big question is, will Fox still want to do it? Would they proceed with the series without Carter or Anderson? Only time will tell, but if Carter and Anderson are out, there's no point. However, I have always wanted to see a prequel series based on the early FBI education and career of Fox Mulder.
We are two episodes into Season 11 and I'm loving it so far! This might just be the last season ever for The X-Files so I'm going to enjoy it while it lasts.