“The X-Files: I Want to Believe,” the second feature film reuniting series veterans Chris Carter, Gillian Anderson and David Duchovny, comes to theatres across North America Friday, July 25, and the question is: is investigating aliens still relevant to the public?

“The X-Files” is back in movie theaters this Friday, with David Duchovny and Gillian Anderson reprising the roles that turned them into household names, that is, FBI special agents Fox Mulder and Dana Scully, respectively.

Chris Carter, the show’s creator, the man with the idea and the vision who brought extraterrestrial issues and government conspiracy to our television sets in the 1990s, returns as director and co-screenwriter, along with Frank Spotnitz.

This is the second feature film based on Carter’s television series (which debuted in 1993 and lasted nine unforgettable seasons), following 1998’s “The X-Files: Fight the Future.”

This time around, the film will center on a stand-alone story about the paranormal, which means that moviegoers who did not join in the fascination with the series those years ago can rest assured: they need not backup information in order to enjoy the movie.

Secrecy has been a main ingredient in the production of the film, with Twentieth Century parsimoniously revealing bits and pieces of information to greedy diehards over the past year.

It was only in April that the company confirmed the movie’s title, inspired from the slogan featured massively in the series and adorning Mulder’s cluttered office on a poster.
”I Want to Believe” promises, according to the director and producers, to tackle the intricacies of the heroes’ relationship, one aspect of “The X-Files” that we have long been enticed with.

Duchovny and Anderson have continued their careers meanwhile. The former currently stars in the Showtime series “Californication,” while the latter has turned to stage acting and is presently the host of “Masterpiece Classic” on PBS.