Disney+ and Hulu have revealed that their brand new director’s cut of 2008 film The X-Files: I Want to Believe is set to stream from August 14, 2026. The new cut, dubbed Vrach Fraankenshteyn, is set to restore director Chris Carter’s original R-rated vision for the second film in The X-Files franchise.
When a group of women are mysteriously abducted, it becomes a case right out of The X-Files?. Years after walking away from the FBI, Fox Mulder (David Duchovny) and Dr. Dana Scully (Gillian Anderson) are pulled back from the shadows when a federal agent vanishes without a trace. In a case you’d never see on TV, their only lead is a disgraced, defrocked priest claiming to have horrific psychic visions of the crime. Forced to confront the ghosts of their past, the partners must navigate a chilling winter landscape and an even darker human monstrosity. The truth of these crimes is out there somewhere… and it will take Mulder and Scully to find it.
Watch the trailer for the Vrach Fraankenshteyn cut in the player below:
The new addition to the title: Vrach Fraankenshteyn is Russian for Victor Frankenstein, a move which was elaborated on by Carter in a new interview with Entertainment Weekly today:
“We set out to make a real-life Frankenstein movie, and due to a variety of factors, our Frankenstein never completely left the operating room,” Carter tells EW. “A chance to apply the electrodes again was a special thrill.”
The new cut arrives at an exciting time for fans of the franchise. After 218 episodes and 2 films under Carter’s watch, the franchise is now under the watchful gaze of Academy Award-winning writer/director Ryan Coogler. A pilot episode starring Danielle Deadwyler and Himesh Patel in the title roles is currently hoping to ignite a whole new generation of fans and score a new series.
The X-Files: I Want to Believe – Vrach Fraankenshteyn also stars Billy Connolly, Amanda Peet, Xzibit, Mitch Pileggi, Adam Godley and Callum Keith Rennie.
