Out doing the rounds for the animated series TRON: Uprising (where he voices General Tesler), Lance Henriksen has made the surprising claim that a movie spin-off of his cult 1990s TV show Millennium is in the works. "I think it's going to happen; I really do," Henriksen says. "There's a big push on right now, and a lot of crazy people involved..."
Millennium, should you need reminding, was Chris Carter's other series, running alongside The X-Files on Fox from 1996 to 1999. Henriksen played Black Francis Frank Black, an ex-FBI agent turned freelance forensic consultant, with the psychic ability to see inside the minds of criminals. He worked for the mysterious Millennium Group, which became more sinister as the series progressed.
The often grisly series struggled with a limiting serial-killer-of-the-week formula for a while, before getting more into the politics within the Millennium Group itself, and conspiracy theories and supernatural forces heading for some sort of millennial apocalypse. Fox cancelled it before it got anywhere, however, and it was wrapped up in a bizarre X-Files crossover episode about zombies in someone's cellar.
The millennial focus means the show was very much of its time, making its resurrection thirteen years later seem unlikely. But, Henriksen believes, that's actually a possible strength of a future film.
"The world has changed radically since 9/11," he explains. "If Millennium was made today, with those same characters, it would be far more interesting than the limited palette they had with serial killers. Imagine Frank's morality and focus [pitted against an international terrorist plot]. He'd be like a master chess player."
There's no green light and no word from Chris Carter, and the last X-Files movie didn't exactly set the world alight, so season this info with a hefty pinch of salt for the time being. But, says Lance, "There are a lot of fans out there, in 65 countries, and I can't go anywhere in the world without being asked when a movie's going to be made. It doesn't have to be an expensive movie. It's crazy not to give it a shot!"