After 9 seasons on the air, The X-Files left many plots and characters hanging in various states of conclusion – and since the news of the show’s revival hit, there’s been questions concerning exactly which of those characters and plot threads will appear in the new run. According to David Duchovny himself, two fan favorites are in fact coming back in what will hopefully be a satisfying wrap-up to their arcs.

Last night, the actor confirmed on The Late Show with David Letterman (see the video above) that Walter Skinner (Mitch Pileggi) and, more importantly, the Cigarette-Smoking Man (William B. Davis) will both be making appearances on the show – when the revival hits television screens in (most likely) next year, that is.

At the conclusion of X-Files proper, CSM was killed by a rocket fired on the order of Adam Baldwin’s Knowle Rohrer – after spilling the big reveal to Mulder and Scully that the aliens would be invading in 2012. Following that bold prediction, the assumption was the 2012 idea would be resolved in a future feature film - unfortunately what premiered instead was The X-Files: I Want to Believe.

It seems fair to think the newly ordered six episodes are going to tackle the apocalypse prediction (as they are, in theory, going to take place in present day where 2012 has come and gone). That leaves one to wonder exactly where CSM fits into the grand scheme of things – since he’s seemingly deceased in the show, at this stage (though he is hinted to be alive in the X-Files comic books).

As far as Skinner goes, he’s very much alive and well as we last see in the I Want to Believe. Getting him back into the show won’t require nearly as much work as CSM, but it is nice to see he hasn’t been forgotten. Of course, what we don’t know is the extent to which Skinner will appear. While CSM probably has a multi-episode arc in him, one must wonder if there’s enough to Skinner to warrant anything more than a simple cameo or one episode guest starring appearance. This is just something that will have to be left on the table of prediction until further notice.

Finally, there is some chatter about the show’s actual production that’s set to get underway later this year. According to CTV News, who sat down with CSM actor William B Davis, the show’s going to be returning to Vancouver when shooting begins.

This isn’t that surprising, though, as X-Files was a show that traversed the U.S. in its fictional world. Moreover, the best (or, rather, “only”) places to shoot a show like that are Vancouver and Los Angeles (and the former is much cheaper than the latter). So again, this information is most likely accurate.

The X-Files limited series is expected to air on Fox in 2016.