X-Files Creator Chris Carter on How His I Want to Believe Director's Cut Dovetailed Into His Second Feature, Queens for a Day

2026 has been an interesting year of independence and creativity for The X-Files creator Chris Carter. In August, Hulu released Carter’s Director’s Cut of his 2008 feature debut, The X-Files: I Want to Believe - Vrach Frankenshteyn, with the title and tone he always intended. And this month, he’s promoting the limited release of his second feature, the self-funded indie, Queens for a Day.

IGN attended a recent Santa Monica screening of the time-twisting, cautionary tale with a defiantly political message, Queens for a Day. Carter and the film’s screenwriter, wife Dori Carter, attracted a who’s who of former X-Files staffers including Darren Morgan, Glen Morgan, Annabeth Gish, Kristen Cloke, and Jeff Cahn.

After, Gish led a Q&A with Carter who confirmed that his 2025 recut of The X-Files: I Want to Believe - Vrach Frankenshteyn dovetailed into preproduction for Queen, and even shared several X-Files collaborators like editor Cahn and production designer Mark S. Freeborn. …