FBI agents Fox “Spooky” Mulder (David Duchovny) and Dana Scully (Gillian Anderson) wielding flashlights is the signature style of the iconic Vancouver-shot sci-fi series. That’s how they entered a darkened Ballroom for the 20th Anniversary panel at San Diego Comic Con two summers ago. Back then a new limited series on FOX didn’t seem likely. But it’s out there now. Six new episodes in the next chapter started filming today back where it all began — North Vancouver’s North Shore Studios.
FOX Announcement:
It's been 13 years, hope my suits still fit. #XFilesReunion http://t.co/T8Yx6J8a5m pic.twitter.com/L1ZM9BzXCr
— David Duchovny (@davidduchovny) March 25, 2015
Mulder, it’s me. Are you ready? MT @MichaelAusiello XF Revival Official @DavidDuchovny & @GillianA Back for 6 New Eps http://t.co/qZi1v8RazZ
— Gillian Anderson (@GillianA) March 24, 2015
The X-Files filmed for five seasons in and around Vancouver (1993 to 1998), helping to build an industry, before production shifted to Los Angeles.
Upfront:
Photo from Gillian Anderson’s Twitter.
Creator Chris Carter has since revealed The X-Files Revival will reflect the passage of time in Mulder and Scully’s relationship and the show’s mythology of a vast government conspiracy to hide the truth about the existence of aliens from the public. I suspect the new conspiracy arc will incorporate a vast government surveillance program of the public keyed off the real world NSA (National Security Agency) spying scandal. Maybe involving Joel McHale’s Conservative news net anchor Tad O’Malley who becomes an unlikely Mulder ally. As with the original, The X-Files redux will be a mix of mythology and standalone episodes.
Pre-production:
Excitement built again last Thursday as David Duchovny tweeted from his flight into Vancouver.
Hello Vancouver ? Mulder? Here I come… pic.twitter.com/rXza7Os7oL
— David Duchovny (@davidduchovny) June 4, 2015
Chris Carter kept it going by signing up for Instagram the next day, and posting this clapboard.
Today Gillian Anderson shared a photo of their set chairs at North Shore Studios.
And so it begins… pic.twitter.com/FSDI7W0bMK
— Gillian Anderson (@GillianA) June 9, 2015
And tomorrow it could reach new heights. A filming notice went up this afternoon for what appears to be a production code name for The X-Files Revival — Third Floor Productions. I will share the notice and the location of a Tuesday afternoon shoot once I confirm The Truth is Out There, i.e. the film trucks and crew show up tomorrow morning. All I can say is that it’s not “a forest at four in the morning”.
Update:
The X-Files Revival has turned a block of Hastings Street downtown into Washington, D.C.
Slate for The X-Files Revival episode one.
