When “The X-Files” drew to a close in 2002 after a nine-year run, agents Fox Mulder (David Duchovny) and Dana Scully (Gillian Anderson) were left with the knowledge that an alien invasion of Earth was imminent, and that nothing could stop it.

Now, six years later, The X-Files: I Want to Believe has renewed our interest in the plights of Mulder and Scully. Creator and director Chris Carter says he’s been ready for years to bring his two most beloved characters back to the big screen. However, a mountain of 
difficulties kept the project buried for years. 

“We had been contacted by Fox about a year after the series ended, and we said we had an idea,” Carter says. “[Writer] Frank Spotnitz and I sat down and worked on that idea. There were business complications, contractual complications — not movie complications — to the series for several years. Everyone was ready to go, particularly David Duchovny, who was really the cheerleader of this movie.”

Once legal issues were resolved, Carter says Fox basically said, “It’s now or never,” with a looming writers strike and diminishing appetites threatening to close “The X-Files” forever. In preparation for the new film, the recently released The X-Files: Revelations DVD serves as a refresher course for those rusty on their “X-Files” mythology.

“[Revelations consists of] entertaining episodes that served a dual purpose of introducing you to the characters, to something of a mythology arc,” Carter explains. “Mostly they were winning episodes we all liked. They weren’t necessarily the best episodes, but overall they reflect the spirit of the show.”

Last year, Fox released a complete-series boxed set of the show. The set also includes the 1998 X-Files movie.

Carter says fans also should check out the 
episode “Home,” from season four. The disturbing episode about a family that’s been inbred for a century was only re-aired once during the show’s initial run.

“‘Home’ is possibly the all-time favorite episode across the board,” Carter says. “It was scary beyond anything we had ever done and highly entertaining.”

As far as the new film’s DVD and Blu-ray Disc are concerned, Carter says loads of extras are planned.

“I had a small digital video camera that I pointed in various directions while making the film,” Carter says. “I think there will be some of that footage in there. I know there will be a more graphic version of the movie, which was edited for a ‘PG-13’ rating. There will be bloopers and funny stuff.”

Carter says future incarnations of “The X-Files” — as well as other Carter projects such as “Millennium,” “The Lone Gunmen” and “Harsh Realm” — may depend on the success of the latest “X-Files” film.

“If I did it again, I would do it mindful of sacrifices,” Carter says. “But when you hook into a big fish like ‘The X-Files,’ it’s worth the fight.”