There's been little news on the second X-files movie of late, but series creator Chris Carter has now confirmed that the official title is "X-files: I want to believe".

With a release date of 25 July this year, X-files: I Want to Believe comes a decade after the first movie grossed US$189.2 million worldwide, and reunites David Duchovny and Gillian Anderson as FBI agents Fox Mulder and Dana Scully.

"I Want to Believe" is a slogan on a UFO poster in Fox Mulder's basement office in the original X-files TV show upon which the movies are based. The original show ran for 9 seasons and produced a massive cult following worldwide.

As usual, studios try to keep story details as secret as possible (and what would you expect from an X-files movie?) but Chris Carter did reveal that the new movie would not focus on the original show's alien mythology. Instead of aliens, it will be a stand-alone story that represents a battle between faith and science. FBI agents Mulder and Scully play an older pair of FBI agents investigating a human rather than alien conspiracy. In the original series Fox Mulder wanted to believe in aliens and the supernatural, while his doctor partner, Dana Scully, was the practical, rational science based character he bounced his ideas off. Their conflicting personalities were one of the key elements that made the show so engaging.

"It's a story that involves the difficulties in mediating faith and science. I Want to Believe — it really does suggest Mulder's struggle with his faith," Chris Carter told CBCNews.

Chris Carter will direct the new movie based on a script he co-wrote with Frank Spotnitz. The movie was shot in the US spring in Vancouver and Carter promised it will be true to the original TV series.

"The reason we're even making the movie is for the rabid fans," said Carter, "so we don't want to insult them by having to take them back through the concept again."

While I’m definitely looking forward to the new movie, I am a bit disappointed about the lack of alien intrigue. The stand-alone episodes in the TV show were great, but it was always the alien encounters and alien story arc that kept me going. Although detailed and sometimes confusing, the alien mythology was great: alien abductions, alien autopsy tapes, black oil, and especially the green blood. What more could you ask for? Still, at least they're back once more, for this we should be thankful.

You can find a large version of the X-files: I want to believe movie poster here.