‘The X-Files’ Revival Confirms Cigarette-Smoking Man, Possible Season 2

Plenty of mystery surrounds The X-Files’ event series revival on FOX, one that grows even deeper by the latest confirmed return. The iconic sci-fi procedural has confirmed that William B. Davis will reprise his role as the enigmatic Smoking Man, while David Duchovny discusses the possibility of the revival graduating to a second season.

As had previously been rumored, Davis will reprise his role as the shadowy figure for The X-Files’ 2016 return, as confirmed by Entertainment Weekly. Granted, the show’s Season 9 finale afforded a fairly definitive end for the character, any number of storytelling explanations (or even flashbacks) might allow for the character’s reappearance.

Returning series star David Duchovny also spoke to the “fantastic” quality of the premiere’s script, confirming  that the six-episode return would balance mythology episodes with stand-alone stories. And while six episodes may seem like a short amount of time to spend with Mulder and Scully, Duchovny specified that the event series wouldn’t necessarily end the franchise:

I would be open to doing another cycle. I don’t know that I could do a 20-episode version of this show at this point in my life, and I don’t know that Gillian could. But I think everybody is open ended on what happens after this. Certainly, we didn’t bring it back with the idea of ending it.

Thus far, FOX’s X-Files return has also confirmed Mitch Pileggi to reprise his role beside Duchovny and Gillian Anderson, Pileggi’s name also topping a shortlist that named Robert Patrick and Annabeth Gish as candidates to return. On the creative side, writers and producers Chris Carter, Glen Morgan and Jim Wong will return to write and direct, with Frank Spotnitz also eyed to pitch in, and composer Mark Snow also coming aboard.

The X-Files will shoot this summer for a January 2016 premiere, but what other surprise returns might Mulder and Scully investigate? Could the revival pave the way for a longer series, or even another film?

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