‘The X-Files’ Creator Chris Carter Slams ‘D.O.A.’ Pentagon UFO Report

On Friday, the United States government released a new report about “unidentified aerial phenomena” that, to the disappointment of many, reportedly doesn’t contain particularly revealing or conclusive information about unidentified flying objects or their origins. That being said, plenty are using this to fuel even more conspiracy theories about UFOs and what might be out there in the universe. However, Chris Carter, who created the iconic sci-fi show The X-Files, wrote an op-ed for The New York Times urging people to not see this as evidence of alien life.

The X-Files, which ran from 1993 to 2001 and spawned 2 movies and a two-season revival in 2016, starred Gillian Anderson as Dana Scully, an FBI agent and skeptic who is teamed up with David Duchovny‘s Fox Mulder, a fellow agent and true believer in the supernatural, to investigate bizarre cases. But, according to Carter, these reports will only cause people to put on their tin hats. “The portions that remain classified will only fuel more conspiracy theories,” Carter wrote. “This is X-Files territory if there ever was any. But it’s also cause for some important questions.”

Carter explained that he is uniquely qualified to comment on this because he was a “magnet” for people’s stories of alien abductions and supernatural occurrences during the show’s run. “The plot of The X-Files was built on a conspiracy theory: The government is lying to you about the existence of UFOs and extraterrestrials,” he explained. “Do I believe the government lies to us? Absolutely. I’m a child of Watergate. Do I believe in conspiracies? Certainly.” However, despite the new report and his experiences making the show, Carter is “as skeptical as I’ve ever been.”

Ultimately, Carter thinks that the “report will come and go” and that due to the current climate, people “might not pay much attention even if wreckage or an alien corpse is discovered.” Despite his skepticism, Carter remains curious. “But what if we had direct contact?” he concludes. “With actual alien beings from an exoplanet who’ve traveled light years to seek us out? Who have answers to every question we’ve ever asked? The result would unquestionably change the course of mankind. But would it change us? I want to believe.”