American actress and "X-Files" star Gillian Anderson, who plays Agent Dana Scully, confirmed that she will not be returning to work for the show again. She confirmed the news last Wednesday, Jan. 10, during a panel at the Television Critics Association (TCA) winter press tour, explaining that there are a lot of things that she plans to do with her career, and is finally moving on from the show.
During the press tour, Anderson stated that "it is time for me to hang up Scully's hat," referring to her role on the show, clarifying that there is absolutely no chance of her returning to the show. Anderson, along with David Duchovny, who plays her character's partner Agent Fox Mulder, and "X-Files" writer and creator Chris Carter, shot six episodes for the 10th season of the show after a prolonged hiatus, and was in talks of doing another season after that.
The 49-year-old actress revealed that after shooting the aforementioned six episodes, she felt that her time with the show was up, and that she had to move on to other projects. She also mentioned that when she agreed to do another season of the show after season 10, she wanted it to serve as a proper form of good-bye to the long-running science-fiction series. However, she then realized that instead of a good-bye, it seems that the series would continue on.
Duchovny expressed that he is okay with continuing to play Agent Mulder in the future, or if Carter decides to wrap up the series.
It is important to note that Anderson also decided to walk away from a later television show, "American Gods," due to the exit of the show's original creators Bryan Fuller and Michael Green, which was caused by a dispute on the show's budget allocation. Anderson did not reveal what project she wants to be part of next, but it will definitely not involve these shows.
