Mulder and Scully shippers "have something to look forward to" in "The X-Files" Season 11, boss Chris Carter promises.

Season 10 brought Fox (David Duchovny) and Dana (Gillian Anderson) back together professionally, but fans were hoping for more, and it sounds like they're going to get it in the 2018 season. Series creator Chris Carter talked to Entertainment Weekly about the upcoming season, and shared two first-look photos.

In terms of Mulder/Scully feedback from the limited last season, Carter told EW, "shippers were heard."

Well, good. "Shipper" is often seen as a derogatory term for fans obsessed with character relationships, but if we're talking about "X-Files" viewers who want Mulder and Scully together as a couple, that's the majority of the loyal fandom.

Still on the personal front, EW said Mulder and Scully are "in for an intense journey." Scully's decision to give up son William for adoption 15 years ago still hangs over both biological parents. "William has been an absent center," Carter said, "He will come to the fore."

Carter also teased something of a role reversal for Mulder and Scully from where we left them, with immune Scully trying to cure Mulder from an alien virus. The first official photo from Season 11 shows Scully in the hospital, with Mulder by her bedside.

Pictured: David Duchovny, Gillian Anderson" data-credit="Robert Falconer/FOX" src="https://o.aolcdn.com/images/dims?resize=2000%2C2000%2Cshrink&image_uri=http%3A%2F%2Fo.aolcdn.com%2Fhss%2Fstorage%2Fmidas%2Fc7b4ee18278b78025cfd21dc3a7fd53d%2F205721171%2Fxfiles-scully-hospital.jpg&client=a1acac3e1b3290917d92&signature=30dcf111d0d48fb6326327a1e969311bc6a72a88" style="width: 660px; height: 440px;" data-mep="2066857" data-provider-asset-id="205721171" />"Obviously something unexpected has happened," Carter teased, adding, "Everything is by design."

Back in August, TVLine posted some scoop on Season 11, hinting to tough times for Scully:

"Hearing buzz that Scully won't be in the best of shape when 'The X-Files' picks up. Also, much like the last revival, rumor has it Season 11 will be bookended by heavy (and hopefully less contrived/cheesy) mythology episodes written and directed by series creator Chris Carter."

Read more about mythology and conspiracy episodes in Carter's new talk with EW. Here's the second very intriguing new photo: My Struggle III
Pictured second from R Jeremy Schuetze" data-credit="FOX" data-credit-link-back="undefined" src="http://o.aolcdn.com/hss/storage/midas/40af1cd13dc0d64f4f6d4a1f8f5fd209/205721172/x-files-2.jpg" style="width: 660px; height: 440px;" data-mep="2066858" data-provider="other" data-provider-asset-id="205721172" />

"The X-Files" Season 11 has 10 episodes and they will arrive on Fox in early 2018.

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