After nearly 15 years off the air, The X-Files returned for season 10 in 2016, but Gillian Anderson at one point considered not coming back. It's very hard to imagine an X-Files without Dana Scully, making it no wonder why FOX decided to put the show back in the vault after Anderson made it clear she had no plans to return for season 12. Especially since they already tried doing an X-Files without Mulder during season 9 (and most of season 8), and fans didn't exactly love it.

Mulder and Scully are the two truly essential ingredients to making The X-Files work, perhaps even more essential at this point than creator Chris Carter, judging by some of the scripts he turned out for the revival. The X-Files without either lead character just can't live up to the magic fans expect from the series, even if what's produced bears the familiar theme song and government conspiracy trappings. Any show can be called The X-Files, but it's the chemistry of Mulder and Scully and the performances of Anderson and David Duchovny that make it live up to that name.

When it came to returning to The X-Files after nearly a decade since last playing Scully in The X-Files: I Want to Believe movie, Gillian Anderson had no qualms about rejoining the fictional FBI, at least not creatively. She did, however, have some more practical concerns.

X-Files: Why Gillian Anderson Almost Didn't Return For Season 10


When Gillian Anderson was first approached about continuing The X-Files, she had some initial reservations, due to her assumption that FOX would want to make a 20-plus episode season like the old days. She didn't want to make that kind of commitment, but it was then determined that season 10 would be short, clearing that hurdle. Then, something pretty ridiculous happened. Anderson was made a lowball offer to return that ended up being half of what David Duchovny was being offered. This naturally upset her, as Anderson had already fought to get equal pay with Duchovny during The X-Files' original run.

Thankfully, Anderson has been successful enough that she didn't need to do The X-Files to pay her bills, and put her foot down, saying that she would only return for season 10 if both she and Duchovny were paid the same for the revival. Not willing to do the show without Scully, FOX gave in and met her demands. Of course, the really maddening thing is that she had to force equal pay at all, especially this far into The X-Files' run. Scully and Mulder are clearly co-leads, both needed to make the series work, and the idea that Duchovny should be paid more is absurd. One wonders if it was Duchovny himself or his team that tipped Anderson off to the differing offers, as one assumes the studio wouldn't have volunteered that information. Either way, at least things worked out for the best.