There will be no Scully in the future of the show, at least physically.
'The X-Files' without Gillian Anderson as Dana Scully isn't something that a vocal portion of the fan base thinks can work. Unfortunately for those very people, Anderson has confirmed that she will be leaving the series following the latest season, despite those working behind-the-scenes on the show and at FOX hoping she would have stuck with the show. So just how will the sci-fi series survive without Scully if it's to continue on into the future?
Gillian Anderson will no longer appear as Dana Scully in 'The X-Files'
There are a number of avenues the series could go down and fortunately, series creator Chris Carter already has some ideas floating around if he and the rest of the bosses working on the show decide to move forward with new episodes.
Speaking with Digital Spy, he explained: "I think that certainly 'The X-Files' has more life in it, there are more stories to tell, with Gillian or without. I’m sorry to see her go, I’ve never actually considered doing this show without her, so is this the end? It’s the end of something, I don’t know if it’s the beginning of something new. But certainly we will have to all put our heads together and figure out where to go from here."
He added: "I always thought of David [Duchovny] the way I thought about the child William [Mulder and Scully’s child], as an absent centre. Even when he wasn’t there, he was the centre of everyone’s concern, and the stories revolved around him. I think that’s an interesting problem for storytellers and I think that if The X-Files is to go forward then Scully would be a similar absent centre."
Carter is of course referring to when Duchovny took a leave of absence from the show, and how the series managed to survive without him, even using his not being around as excuse for some major storylines to be implemented.
If 'The X-Files' does live on, the show will obviously have to explain why Scully is no longer a part of the team. Episodes of her final season were already filmed before Anderson officially announced she was leaving, and so it's not something we expect to be explained before the current season comes to an end. Because of that, there surely has to be a future for the series. The answers are out there, and we need them!
More: Gillian Anderson Explains Why She's Quitting 'The X-Files'
The new series of 'The X-Files' airs on Channel 5 in the UK.
Filmmaker Gurinder Chada (Bend It Like Beckham) draws on her own family history to explore...
'Viceroy's House' follows the life of the last Viceroy of India who was the figurehead...
For a low-budget kids' movie, this British science-fiction adventure has an unusually sharp cast, decent...
When Earth is suddenly taken over by colossal robots from another planet, the citizens of...
Matthew Morgan is living in the romantic city of Paris after retiring from his teaching...
Complex emotions and a gentle exploration of interpersonal connections make this Paris-set drama worth a...
From the studio that brought us classics like Spirited Away and Howl's Moving Castle, this...
A bracingly honest approach to flawed characters makes this small-scale Swiss drama thoroughly involving. And...
Like Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, this thriller refuses to burst out into action mode, preferring...
Colette McVeigh is a single mother who lives with her mother in Belfast. She is...
After the painfully unfunny 2003 original, a franchise was highly unlikely. And yet the spoof...
Director Terrence Davies took a chance casting "The X-Files'" Gillian Anderson as the devastated heroine...