The X-Files: Every Major Character That Returned For the Revival

After a 14 year hibernation, The X-Files returned to FOX in 2016 with a revival, and here’s every major character who came back to be part of it. While reboots and revivals of TV shows are a common enough phenomenon at present to have entire articles dedicated to cataloging upcoming projects of that nature, it wasn’t that long ago when it was a relatively rare occurrence. Before the 2010s, at least for the most part, when a show got canceled or ended, that was it, it was over and done with.

Nowadays, when a show is canceled, the first thing fans do after the sadness sets in is to petition other networks or streaming services to resurrect it. After that, many fans spend years hoping against hope that their favorite program will be one of the lucky ones to get a reboot or revival, no matter how unlikely it begins to seem. Hannibal is a prime current example of that latter hope, which has admittedly been fed into by creator Bryan Fuller.

When a decade-defining classic like The X-Files gets revived though, it’s a moment when fans have to pick their jaws up off the floor. Is it really time for more new Mulder and Scully adventures, over a decade after the fact? In 2016, and later in 2018, it was most definitely that. Here’s who attended the reunion.

Fox Mulder (David Duchovny)

One reason The X-Files finally getting a season 10 was such a momentous announcement for fans was that it was revealed former FBI special agent Fox Mulder (David Duchovny) would be back as a series lead. While that might seem like an obvious development, it actually wasn’t, as season 8 barely included Mulder, and season 9 was almost bereft of him completely. When the revival begins, Mulder is long gone from the FBI, but is drawn back in due to information possessed by a right-wing webcaster.

Dana Scully (Gillian Anderson)

Unlike Mulder, Dana Scully (Gillian Anderson) had remained with the FBI for the duration of seasons 8 and 9, although she often took a backseat to the duo of Doggett and Reyes in the latter season. Getting Mulder and Scully back in the lead together was a big deal for fans, whose only taste of them working together since season 9 had been the disappointing X-Files: I Want to Believe movie. Scully too had long since left the FBI when season 10 begins, having gone back to being a medical doctor, that is until Skinner asks her and Mulder to investigate a new matter.

Walter Skinner (Mitch Pileggi)

Surprisingly enough, considering all the times his allegiance with Mulder and Scully has gotten him on the bad side of his superiors, Walter Skinner (Mitch Pileggi) was somehow still an Assistant Director with the FBI by season 10. It’s he who pulls Mulder and Scully back in to investigate the claims of right-wing host Tad O’Malley, and eventually reopens the X-Files division with the duo back at the helm.

Monica Reyes (Annabeth Gish)

Monica Reyes (Annabeth Gish), a believer but in a less cynical way than Mulder, came aboard as a series regular in season 9. Unlike her partner John Doggett, Reyes came back for seasons 10 and 11, although in a way most fans didn’t expect. Reyes took an offer from the Cigarette-Smoking Man for protection from the coming apocalypse if she became his assistant. Reyes is seemingly killed by Skinner near the end of season 11.

The Cigarette-Smoking Man (William B. Davis)

The Cigarette-Smoking Man (William B. Davis), aka Carl Gerhard Busch Spender, is revealed in season 10 to have survived his second seemingly conclusive death near the end of season 9’s finale, albeit with lasting injuries. This doesn’t really make sense, as he was blown up onscreen, but at the same time, fans wouldn’t have wanted a revival without him around to target Mulder and Scully.

Jeffrey Spender (Chris Owens)

Jeffrey Spender (Chris Owens) had a rough time during his run on The X-Files. Not only did his mother die, but his father turned out to be the Cigarette-Smoking Man, who also fathered Mulder, making the usually at odds agents into half-brothers. He looked to be killed by his dad in season 6, but resurfaced in season 9, rendered unrecognizable by experiments. Spender makes a return for the season 11 premiere to help Mulder and Scully, and has been restored to his original appearance.

Alvin Kersh (James Pickens Jr)

While Skinner was the FBI’s reasonable authority figure, Deputy Director Kersh (James Pickens Jr) was the polar opposite. He constantly stood in Mulder and Scully’s way, and perhaps as a byproduct, seemed to have mutual personal animosity with Skinner. Kersh was a by the book character, but when your superiors are evil conspirators, that’s not great. Thankfully, Kersh had a conscience in the end, allowing Mulder and Scully to escape after the former’s sham murder trial. He’s still at his post in season 11, and enlists the duo to look for a missing Skinner.

William Scully III (Miles Robbins)

A big plot arc in seasons 8 and 9 saw Mulder and Scully have to give up their supernaturally gifted son William, for what they thought was his own safety. A now grown William reappeared in season 11, now played by Miles Robbins, and he wasn’t exactly the most sympathetic character, being first shown nearly getting two teenage girls killed by making them see each other as monsters. William proves more complex than evil though, and helps take down the Cigarette-Smoking Man.

The Lone Gunmen (Tom Braidwood, Bruce Harwood & Dean Haglund)

The Lone Gunmen were killed off in season 9’s “Jump the Shark,” to the dismay of fans. They did at least get to make a quick cameo in season 10, during a hallucination had by a drugged up Mulder. Langly (Dean Haglund) gets his own solo return in season 11, where it’s revealed that his and many other great minds are living on against their will inside a virtual heaven.

Margaret Scully (Sheila Larken)

Margaret Scully (Sheila Larken), Dana’s mom, was put through the wringer over the course of The X-Files. Her daughter Dana was in grave danger on a near constant basis, and her daughter Melissa ended up getting murdered. In season 10’s “Home Again,” Margaret has a heart attack, is hospitalized, and later sadly passes away.

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