A darkened theater. Ominous music. Mulder and Scully nearly kissing on the big screen. No, it’s not 1998 – it is the long-awaited debut of the official X-Files 2 trailer! 

 

XFN teamed up with TVGuide.com's Erin Fox to attend The Paley Center for Media's PaleyFest in Los Angeles on Wednesday evening. 

 

Loyal X-Files fans in attendance were treated to two viewings of the new footage and a panel full of the brains and talent behind both the upcoming movie and the long running Fox television series.

 

Moderated by Variety’s Cynthia Littleton, the evening began with a montage of clips highlighting the show, focusing on the relationship between Agents Mulder and Scully. Panelists included Chris Carter and Frank Spotnitz, co-writers of the new movie, Nicholas Lea (Alex Krycek), Mitch Pileggi (Walter Skinner), Dean Haglund (Richard Langley), and several writers, directors, and producers from the show – all men.

 

“I want to go on record and say that we did hire women,” Carter said, noting the estrogen absence.

But that’s about all Carter would go “on record” with.  The notoriously secretive executive producer and director divulged no plot details for the still untitled upcoming movie.

 

“You guys did another movie?” Pileggi joked. “That just hurts.”

 

The panel focused mainly on nostalgia, playful career jabs, and the show’s sometimes nearly impossible production standards.

 

“Each episode had it’s own set of rules,” said Spotnitz. “It was very challenging, and it never got easy over the nine years we did the show.”

 

Lea remarked that the high quality “sort of ruined” him for future productions, and several producers noted that they still refer to The X-Files as the best – and most difficult -- work of their careers.

 

“You’d get this elaborate costume drawing, but it usually ended up as a rubber suit on a guy. It just looked stupid,” remarked series and firstfeature director Rob Bowman. “We just had to light it so that the audience could fill in the blanks.”

 

And what sort of planning went into the labyrinthine “mythology” episodes, twisting faceless aliens, black oil, and subcutaneous cancer causing and curing microchips?

 

“We wrote that as we went along,” said Carter. “We winged it right up until the end.”

 

One of the more debated “winged” additions to the mythology came in the form of Scully’s mysterious baby during season 8. Littleton spoke for legions of fans when she asked if the child would be addressed in the sequel.

 

In classic X-Files fashion, Carter offered only this: “It will not go unconsidered in the new movie.”

 

X-Files 2 opens nationwide July 25.

 

* And and in case you were wondering, that's Nick Lea below doing his best Mulder impression to retaliate for Duchovny's one-armed dramatization at WonderCon! 

 

 

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Gracing the stage:

Chris Carter - Creator/Executive Producer

Frank Spotnitz - Executive Producer

Howard Gordon - Executive Producer (now of "24" fame) 

Nicholas Lea - "Alex Krycek"

Mitch Pileggi - "Walter Skinner"

Dean Haglund - "Richard Langley"

Rob Bowman - Producer/Director

David Nutter - Producer/Director

Paul Rabwin - Producer

Glen Morgan - Writer

Darin Morgan - Writer/Story editor 

Steven Maeda - Writer/Story editor