After multiple films and revival seasons, “The X-Files” creator Chris Carter finally got another shot at his often misunderstood film, “The X-Files: I Want to Believe.” The new R-rated cut restores disturbing imagery, reshapes the music, and even strips away some of the Mulder-Scully relationship material. It also commits what a certain corner of the fanbase may consider the ultimate R-rated act: Carter cut the Mulder-Scully kiss. But don’t expect a “Snyder Cut” here. This cut is surprisingly shorter, with mostly very subtle changes for eagle-eyed fans.

Now titled “The X-Files: I Want to Believe – Vrach Frankenshteyn,” Carter’s new version pushes the standalone thriller closer to the horror film he and co-writer Frank Spotnitz originally made. The movie reunites David Duchovny and Gillian Anderson as Fox Mulder and Dana Scully, years after they left the FBI at the end of Season 9, when a missing-agent case and a disgraced priest’s psychic visions pull them into a grotesque experiment involving stolen bodies and severed parts.

On the latest episode of “The Discourse Podcast,” Carter joined host Mike DeAngelo to dig into what changed, why he traded some romantic material for bigger scares, and whether fans might ever see the larger Mulder and Scully story still sitting around in his head. He also discussed the unfinished business of Season 11, his conversation with Ryan Coogler about the “X-Files” reboot, and the horror fable he and his wife have made, “Queens for a Day.”