The X-Files: I Want to Believe – Vrach Frankenshteyn Reveals R-Rated Movie Trailer

The truth is returning in a much darker form. Disney+ and Hulu have released the official trailer and key art for The X-Files: I Want to Believe – Vrach Frankenshteyn, an R-rated director’s cut of Chris Carter’s 2008 feature film.

The newly restored version will premiere Aug. 14 on both streaming services. The original theatrical cut of The X-Files: I Want to Believe will also become available on Disney+ and Hulu that same day.

Vrach Frankenshteyn is described as the version Carter always envisioned. The restoration introduces a darker and more frightening thriller built around the idea of a real-life Dr. Frankenstein. It also gives longtime fans the chance to experience footage and story elements that were not fully presented in the original release.

Mulder and Scully return to investigate a horrifying case

The film reunites David Duchovny and Gillian Anderson as former FBI agents Fox Mulder and Dr. Dana Scully. Years after leaving the bureau, the pair are pulled back into the darkness when a federal agent disappears without a trace.

Their only lead is a disgraced and defrocked priest who claims to be experiencing horrifying psychic visions connected to the crime. As more women mysteriously vanish, Mulder and Scully must decide whether the priest’s visions are genuine or part of something even more disturbing.

The investigation sends the former partners across a frozen landscape while forcing them to confront their complicated history. It also brings them face to face with a human monster whose experiments appear to push beyond the limits of science and morality.

The official synopsis reads:

When a group of women is mysteriously abducted, it becomes a case right out of The X-Files. Years after walking away from the FBI, Fox Mulder and Dr. Dana Scully 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.

Billy Connolly plays Father Joseph Crissman, the controversial priest at the center of the mystery. The cast also includes Amanda Peet, Alvin “Xzibit” Joiner, Mitch Pileggi, Callum Keith Rennie, and Adam Godley.

How the director’s cut changes I Want to Believe

Released in theaters in 2008, The X-Files: I Want to Believe arrived six years after the original television run ended. Unlike 1998’s The X-Files movie, the second film largely avoided the show’s alien mythology. Instead, Carter delivered a standalone supernatural crime thriller centered on faith, science, redemption, and the emotional connection between Mulder and Scully.

Carter directed the film and co-wrote its screenplay with longtime X-Files producer Frank Spotnitz. The theatrical version received a PG-13 rating and earned more than $68 million worldwide. However, its grounded mystery and slower pace divided audiences who expected a larger extraterrestrial storyline.

Vrach Frankenshteyn now promises to reveal a more intense version of that story. Its R rating and restored material could strengthen the horror surrounding the abducted women, the medical experiments, and the film’s Frankenstein-inspired villain.

The new release also arrives at an important time for the franchise as another generation of investigators prepares to enter the unknown.

Ryan Coogler is building a new X-Files series

The X-Files is also preparing for a television comeback under Ryan Coogler, the filmmaker behind Sinners, Creed, Black Panther, and Black Panther: Wakanda Forever.

Hulu officially ordered a pilot for Coogler’s new take in February 2026. Danielle Deadwyler is set to lead the project, with Himesh Patel joining her as a co-star. Coogler will write and direct the pilot while executive producing through Proximity Media. Original series creator Chris Carter is also attached as an executive producer.

The project is expected to introduce new characters rather than recast Mulder and Scully. However, Coogler previously confirmed that he spoke with Anderson about the series, leaving the door open for a possible appearance by the original Scully. He has also said that he wants the new episodes to be genuinely frightening while honoring longtime fans and welcoming new viewers. Variety

Additional guest stars reportedly include Steve Buscemi, Amy Madigan, Ben Foster, Jorge Lendeborg Jr., Aurora Perrineau, Ólafur Darri Ólafsson, Michael Irby, and Marin Ireland. Hulu has not announced whether the pilot will receive a full series order or when it could premiere.

The lasting legacy of The X-Files

Created by Carter, The X-Files premiered on Fox in 1993 and became one of television’s most influential science-fiction series. Its stories followed Mulder, a believer in paranormal phenomena and extraterrestrial life, and Scully, a skeptical doctor and scientist assigned to evaluate his work.

The original run lasted nine seasons before ending in 2002. Duchovny and Anderson later returned for two revival seasons, which aired in 2016 and 2018. Across its 11 seasons, the series combined government conspiracies and alien mythology with standalone “Monster of the Week” cases.

That mix helped The X-Files become a cultural phenomenon and inspired generations of supernatural dramas. Its influence remains visible across television, film, podcasts, and modern true-crime storytelling.

With Carter’s darker cut of I Want to Believe arriving alongside continued movement on Coogler’s pilot, the franchise is once again opening its most mysterious cases.

The X-Files: I Want to Believe – Vrach Frankenshteyn premieres on Disney+ and Hulu on August 14. The original 2008 theatrical version will begin streaming on both platforms the same day.

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