Gillian Anderson reveals under which conditions she would consider a return to The X-Files. The series follows two FBI agents — realist Dana Scully, played by Anderson, and conspiracy theorist Fox Mulder, played by David Duchovny — as they attempt to uncover the truth behind impossible phenomena. The X-Files ran from 1993 to 2018, earning a title as one of the longest-running science-fiction series in network TV history.
Anderson was present in every season of the show but shared that her time on the X-Files set was filled with anxiety and breakdowns. In 2002, she left The X-Files to perform in stage plays, unsure if she would ever return to television, but ultimately decided to appear in the show’s tenth season. Despite Anderson’s less-than-perfect experience starring in The X-Files, her work has had clear and lasting effects on fans. Specifically, Anderson’s performance resulted in The Scully Effect — the name given to a phenomenon in which the number of women starting in STEM fields dramatically increased after The X-Files premiered in the early 1990s.
Anderson is surely aware of the impact her portrayal of Scully has had and reveals to Variety the specific conditions that would need to be in place in order for her to revise the iconic role. Her disinterest in the idea of another season is clear through her statement that "It just feels like such an old idea. I’ve done it, I did it for so many years…" She continues on saying "In order to even begin to have that conversation there would need to be a whole new set of writers and the baton would need to be handed on for it to feel like it was new and progressive. So yeah, it’s very much in the past."
Anderson explains that her disinclination to continue The X-Files partly stems from a work environment that was not as gender-equal as the content of the show might have suggested. Anderson had been excited to play Scully, because she was "a woman that I haven’t seen before on television" and "so unique." However, the feminist ideals that went into writing Scully did not transfer to the real world as Anderson was asked to do certain things such as "walk behind [Duchovny] when [our characters] walked up to the front doors of the people we were investigating."
Anderson’s experience on The X-Files is indicative of a consistent theme of sexism in media that is unfortunately still present today. Although Anderson was an instrumental and irreplaceable aspect of the show, it is unlikely that the show creators would be willing to completely revamp the crew of the series to ensure her return. With this understanding, audiences should not expect to see more of Anderson in The X-Files, but perhaps her decision to speak up about her problems with the work atmosphere will lead to more women in television following in her footsteps. Hopefully, the days of inequality in media spaces will soon also be "very much in the past."
Source: Variety