Nearly 20 Years Later, Disney+ Is Adding a New Version of the Final X-Files Release

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Few TV shows have had as big an impact on popular culture as The X-Files. Created by Chris Carter, the show premiered on Fox in September 1993 and ran for nine seasons, captivating audiences worldwide with its unique premise: two FBI agents investigating unexplained phenomena. The X-Files won numerous Emmy Awards, launched the careers of David Duchovny and Gillian Anderson, and set a new standard for dramatic, serialized storytelling that many shows have since tried to copy. The show’s success extended beyond television with two movies: Fight the Future in 1998, which focused on the show’s overarching mythology, and I Want to Believe in 2008, a standalone thriller that brought Duchovny and Anderson back together after the series ended. Now, I Want to Believe will be available for the first time.

As a huge fan of The X-Files, I’m thrilled to hear that Disney+ is finally getting the Director’s Cut of I Want to Believe on June 11th, 2026! It’ll be available as an extra on the movie’s page, which is awesome. Now, we’ve had an extended cut on DVD and Blu-ray since 2008 – about four minutes longer than what we saw in theaters – but this Director’s Cut is different. Apparently, Chris Carter, the creator and director, had to cut some genuinely scary stuff to get the movie approved by the studio and the ratings board back in the day. This new version restores all of that lost content, so it’s essentially the film he originally intended us to see. I can’t wait!

How Different Is the Director’s Cut of X-Files: I Want to Believe?

Last year, Chris Carter revealed he’s been working on a Director’s Cut of The X-Files: I Want to Believe. He discussed the project on the Fail Better With David Duchovny podcast, explaining that the original cut was initially deemed too intense for a PG-13 rating by Fox executives. Carter said they asked for edits to make the film more suitable for a wider audience. However, even after those changes, the MPAA still required further cuts. These multiple rounds of adjustments resulted in a theatrical version that significantly differed from his original vision, and he’s now excited to finally release the Director’s Cut as he intended.

I’m really excited because Carter finally has the opportunity to create the horror movie he originally envisioned. He explained it’s not just about re-editing an old film; he wants to actually bring his original vision – the one that existed in the script but never fully made it to the screen – to life.

As a big fan of The X-Files, it always bummed me out that I Want to Believe didn’t really connect with audiences or critics – it only scored around 32% on Rotten Tomatoes and barely made $69 million at the box office, which is rough for such a well-known franchise. Most reviewers didn’t like that the film moved away from the alien-focused stories of the series and instead focused on a serial killer investigation with a psychic twist. But it’s interesting to hear from the creator, Frank Spotnitz, that the version we all saw had actually less of the scary stuff he originally intended! It’s even more timely because Ryan Coogler – the director of Sinners, a horror film that won an Oscar – is currently working on a new X-Files series for Hulu, with a fresh pair of investigators played by Danielle Deadwyler and Himesh Patel. It makes me wonder what a Director’s Cut of I Want to Believe will be like knowing all this!

The X-Files: I Want to Believe — Director’s Cut arrives on Disney+ on June 11th.

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2026-05-21 14:11