THE X-FILES: EVERYBODY LOVES A CONSPIRACY!

Bu, unfortunately, David Duchovny explains why he won’t be writing for The X-Files season 11…

Duchovny has confirmed that he will not be writing or directing for The X-Files in its next 10-episode season, though that’s not for lack of trying. “I always say if I have an idea, I would love to write and direct it,” Duchovny says.

The X-Files star was no stranger to the creative process during the series’ original run. Duchovny wrote and directed two episodes — season 6’s “The Unnatural” and season 7’s “Hollywood A.D.” — and collaborated with series creator Chris Carter and writer Howard Gordon (Homeland) on the stories of four episodes in the sci-fi drama’s second and third seasons.

In addition, Duchovny returned to the show after departing as a regular to direct a pivotal episode near the end of the ninth season, shortly before what was then the series finale.

The actor tells that Carter offered him the chance to write and direct in season 11, but it didn’t come together. “I had an idea that I was toying with, which is actually a movie idea,” Duchovny says, “and I was trying to figure out if I could transpose it into being an X-File. Because then you have to add two characters that demand a lot of time, Mulder and Scully. And you have to tell it in 45 minutes, so you’ve got to shrink it in half while adding two major characters. And in the end, I couldn’t see how it would work.”

Time constraints added to the complication. Even though the Fox drama’s upcoming 10-episode run is four episodes longer than season 10, which aired as an event series in 2016, Duchovny hesitated to minimize his character’s involvement in so much of the story.

Seven writers for the new season — including vets like Carter, Darin Morgan, Glen Morgan, and James Wong, all of whom wrote for season 10. Each of season 10’s six episodes was directed by its writer.

“Chris was very generous in asking me to do it,” Duchovny says. “I hope I didn’t disappoint him by not coming through, but I’ll just be acting.”

As for what he’ll be acting in, Duchovny says he hasn’t seen a script — and that’s not for lack of trying, either.