Fox’s revival of The X-Files is currently shooting in Vancouver ahead of its release early next year. The two leading actors from the show’s previous nine-season run - and two spinoff movies - David Duchovny and Gillian Anderson return as the voracious FBI Special Agents Mulder and Scully. And while we know little about the plot specifics, (presumably it’ll include little green men and a conspiracy?) Anderson has spoken briefly to TV Line about her experiences reviving not simply the show, but her iconic character.

“[It’s] strange to be back here. This is a lot of flashbacks, a lot of deja vu, a lot of remembering dynamics - and it's... a thicker substance to wade through than I'd thought... It feels like it's been a long time since I've played her. I can't remember what year the movie was, but it felt like [Scully] was further away from me than I'd thought she would be. But I've also worked really hard at putting her entirely to sleep, so that was successful; she's just taken longer to wake up.”

She goes on to say that she’s only read the first two episode scripts, describing the season premiere as "Slow. Intense. And it's setting groundwork, so it's got a particular role to play. It does exactly what it needs to do. What's a single word for fulfilling that requirement? Functional? Appropriate? Functional works. Slow, intense and functional.”

That’s certainly an interesting trio of descriptors from Anderson, which point toward another slow-burning mystery that the series has become synonymous with over the years.

The X-Files returns to the small screen in January 2016.

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