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Nearly two decades ago, The X-Files: I Want to Believe was released in movie theaters. At the time, it was heavily edited in order to be granted a PG-13 rating for its theatrical release, but now, fans will be able to watch the much darker version creator Chris Carter had originally envisioned.
It's now been officially announced that a "brand new, never-before-seen R-rated Chris Carter Director's Cut" of The X-Files: I Want to Believe will premiere on Hulu on Aug. 14. The alternate cut aims to "faithfully restore the filmmaker's original vision" before its studio-requested edits. Also announced is the R-rated cut's official title, which is The X-Files: I Want to Believe Vrach Frankenshteyn. That's Russian for "Victor Frankenstein," possibly referring to how the original version of the film has been pieced back together and resurrected.
The Director's Cut Will Finally Be Released
Carter first shared that he was working on the director's cut on David Duchovny's Fail Better with David Duchovny podcast last year. In May, a listing of upcoming films and TV shows being added to Disney+ included the director's cut of The X-Files: I Want to Believe. At the time, it was stated that the movie would be added on June 11, but it did not wind up dropping on that date. A report by Polygon later claimed that it was delayed due to "last-minute adjustments" that needed to be made for the release.
The movie was the second feature film spinoff of The X-Files, following 1998's The X-Files movie. The sequel made about $68 million, a big decline from the original movie's $189 million haul. On Rotten tomatoes, I Want to Believe also holds an unfortunate score of 32%. It will be seen soon enough if the alternate cut of the movie will be better received by fans.
A Lot of Footage Was Cut From the Theatrical Release
“I just got the go ahead to do a 'Director’s Cut' of I Want to Believe," Carter told Duchovny last summer. "I can’t tell you how excited I am about this. I made it too scary, basically, and I was told so by the brass at Fox, and they wanted a PG-13 movie. So we cut it back to be a PG-13 movie, and we thought, ‘Okay, we’ve satisfied their demands.’ The critics, the people who rate the movies, said ‘No, it’s not a PG-13 yet, you’ve got to cut it back even farther.’ I can tell you that you can do more on network television… [the censors are] more permissive than they are for the movies.”
He added, "Now I have a chance to go back and make the scary movie that I always intended to make. It’s not just doing a 'Director’s Cut' to do a 'Director’s Cut.' It’s really kind of bringing to life something that, for me, was on the page and never got to the screen."
Meanwhile, a reboot of The X-Files is also in development at Hulu. The reboot's pilot was recently completed, but the project has not yet been officially ordered to series. It stars Himesh Patel and Danielle Deadwyler. There's been no confirmation at this time that David Duchovny or Gillian Anderson will be involved.
The X-Files: I Want to Believe Vrach Frankenshteyn will start streaming on Hulu on Aug. 14, 2026.
