Posted in: Fox, Music, Pop Culture, streaming, TV | Tagged: gillian anderson, taylor swift, x-files

The X-Files: Gillian Anderson Goes Taylor Swift to Describe X-Perience

Gillian Anderson went The X-Files route with her Taylor Swift/"You wouldn't last an hour in the asylum where they raised me" post.

If there's anyone who's more than earned the right to say "Thanks, but no thanks" when it comes to returning to their mega-popular franchise, it's Gillian Anderson (The Crown, Sex Education, Scoop), aka FBI Agent & Dr. Dana Scully from The X-Files. During the peak of the show's success, Anderson & co-star David Duchovny had the spotlight on them 24/7 – even as they were still filming 20+ episodes of the hit series. Think about that in terms of the eight-episode seasons we've gotten accustomed to in the streaming age, and the idea of producing about two dozen episodes of an hour-long sci-fi drama will blow your mind. So when Anderson shared that she would consider a conversation about returning to the franchise based on what Ryan Coogler (Fruitvale Station, Creed, "Black Panther" films) has planned, it was more than enough to get us excited. But that doesn't mean that she wants folks to forget where she came from – and she channeled Taylor Swift's "Who's Afraid of Little Old Me?" to make her point.

"You wouldn't last an hour in the asylum where they raised me," was the line Anderson quoted from Swift's album, The Tortured Poets Department – including an image of Anderson's Scully and Duchovny's Fox Mulder in their basement office. Anderson's post was one of many on social media that used the line from Swift's song to share looks at where they respectively got their start – with "asylum" giving you a sense of the point some were trying to make.

The X-Files Creator Chris Carter on Reboot Efforts

During a recent interview with Inverse, Carter shared from experience why Coogler has a "hard job" ahead of him – adding that Coogler will be facing a bigger hurdle than he had to deal with during the original series run: "Everything's a conspiracy."

"No matter what, he's got a hard job. Casting is a hard job. Mounting it is a hard job. All the problems that I dealt with are going to be his problems," Carter explained, noting the production responsibilities that came with being the person in charge. But where Carter and Coogler part ways is when it comes to conspiracy theories. During Carter's run, Anderson's Dana Scully was seen as the voice of the reasoned majority – seeking practical answers to seemingly fantastical situations (the sandbox that David Duchovny's Fox Mulder played in). Now? Those same conspiracy theories have become more of the mainstream conversation thanks to the combination of social media and misinformation.

"Everything's a conspiracy. No one knows what the truth is. It's completely subjective and relative now." Carter noted the recent online speculation surrounding Kate Middleton, Princess of Wales, fueled by her public absence and some horrible PR work on the part of Kensington Palace. Middleton would eventually post a video revealing a cancer diagnosis and that he had been undergoing treatment. "Can you imagine, first of all, being sick – but then everyone's got a take on it? The most private thing becomes the most public thing, and then the most misunderstood thing," he added. "You do a show like this, [and] there's media done on you, and it's like, 'What does that spawn? What does that produce? What is the result of that thing?' It's not always good," Carter revealed, noting that the show may have also been a factor in encouraging our current climate of general distrust.

Speaking with The Wrap back in February at the opening of his Los Angeles art exhibit, Carter confirmed that he will not be a part of the reboot/spinoff series. "Only as a cheerleader. They don't need my blessing. 20th Century Fox and Disney owns the show. They are free to do with it what they believe. I'm honored that they came to me and asked me not for my permission but my blessing." While spoiler lockdown wouldn't allow him to offer details, Carter did confirm that he has spoken with Coogler about the new series' approach. "I'm not supposed to be talking about it, according to Disney. But I'll tell you, yes. I've had a conversation with him. Yes, he likes to go with a diverse cast. And he's got some good ideas." Does that mean that Carter is done with the franchise, ready to hand off the creative baton to Coogler? Not quite. "Oh, if David [Duchovny] and Gillian [Anderson] wanted to do it again. Yeah, probably, then I would be inspired," he added.

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