Director’s cut of sci-fi sequel deemed ‘too scary’ for cinemas coming to streaming

'It’s really bringing to life something that was on the page and never got to the screen.'

The second big-screen instalment of the hit sci-fi TV series starring David Duchovny and Gillian Anderson, the film landed in theatres in 2008, where it underperformed at the box office and with critics.

The story follows former FBI special agents Dana Scully (Anderson) and Fox Mulder (Duchovny), who have been out of the bureau for several years. Mulder is living in isolation, his tireless search for the truth leading to his professional exile. Scully, meanwhile, has become a doctor at a Catholic hospital.

When an FBI agent is mysteriously kidnapped, and a defrocked Catholic priest (Billy Connolly) claims to be experiencing psychic visions of the endangered investigator, Scully is asked to bring Mulder back to the bureau to consult on the case.

Co-starring Alvin 'Xzibit' Joiner, Amanda Peet and Mitch Pileggi, I Want to Believe disappointed viewers upon release, with many taking issue with its lack of horror elements.

The New York Times criticised its "trashy thriller clichés", while Film Journal International called it "PG-13 Se7en", adding: "Body parts, gruesomeness, gloom and doom, but hey, not too much, and don't worry, there's nothing deeply upsetting"

That said, some fans (including us) have come to its defence over the years, praising its more intimate story and haunting imagery.

I Want to Believe's co-writer and director Chris Carter, who also created The X-Files, appeared on Duchovny's Fail Better podcast in June 2025. On the episode, he confirmed a director's cut of the 2008 movie was in the works.

You can read a snippet of the conversation between the filmmaker and the actor, in which Carter explains why he wanted to work on this new version of the story.

Chris Carter: I just got the go-ahead yesterday to do a director's cut of I Want to Believe, the second movie. I can't tell you how excited I am about this.

David Duchovny: Because you took s**t for that movie, right?

Chris Carter: Oh, big time. I made it too scary, basically. 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 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; they're more permissive than the censors are for the movies.

David Duchovny: Certainly on the streamers now.

Chris Carter: Now I have a chance to go back and make the scary movie that I always intended. It’s not just doing a director’s cut to do a director’s cut. It’s really bringing to life something that for me was on the page and never got to the screen.

The director's cut of The X-Files: I Want to Believe bears the subtitle Vrach Frankenshteyn, meaning Physician Frankenstein in Russian.

Disney+ has confirmed to JOE that The X-Files: I Want to Believe - Vrach Frankenshteyn will be available to watch on the service on Friday, 14 August, including in Ireland and the UK.

Watch the trailer for the new director's cut below: