Shortly after we ran our series of articles on XFilesNews, I was contacted by one of the Project Managers behind Back To Frank Black. After looking into the website, I found that they were devoted to bringing the central character of Millennium, Frank Black, back in either a feature film or a TV Movie. The website is currently advocating a two pronged approach, contacting Fox about a possible feature film and the cable network (and corporate sibling of Fox) FX about a possible TV movie. But given that the series has been off of the air since 1999, what are the chances of such a comeback?
Millennium
First a little background. Millennium was created by Chris Carter and ran on the Fox network from October 25th 1996 to May 21st 1999. The series followed Frank Black, a former FBI agent and criminal profiler who was freelancing as a consultant for the Millennium Group. Millennium starred Lance Henriksen as Frank Black, Meghan Gallagher as Catherine Black and Klea Scott as Emma Hollis. The recurring cast for the series included Britany Tiplady as Jordan Black and Terry O. Quinn as Peter Watts. The series was produced by 20th Century Fox Television and Ten Thirteen Productions with Chris Carter, Michael Duggan, Chip Johannessen, Glen Morgan and James Wong serving as executive producers.
A Feature Film?
While both Chris Carter and Lance Henriksen have expressed their personal preferences that any new Millennium project be a “television event”, Back To Frank Black and fans are still discussing a possible feature film. So to get the answers about the chances of a Millennium feature film I contacted a source at 20th Century Fox. When asked, my source said “It [a Millennium movie] is not something we are currently considering.”
In response I did ask if it had ever been considered and, in turn, would they consider such a project in the future. “We have received letters from Millennium fans and I vaguely recall a Millennium movie being mentioned back when Chris [Carter] was producing I Want To Believe, I’m not sure how seriously it was considered, though. As far as future projects, I really can’t comment on what we may or may not be receptive to in the future.”
Okay, How About A TV Movie?
The other option advocated by Back To Frank Black is that of a TV movie airing on FX (the reason being that re-runs of Millennium were quite successful on the network). So what are the chances of that happening? According to my sources at the network: not good. “We are not really in the business of TV movies. If you look at the kind of success we’re having at the moment with Sons of Anarchy and American Horror Story you’ll see our focus, right now, is on original series.”
So while it appears that a Millennium movie is not in the works, I keep coming back to the words “currently considering”. In my experience, people at networks and studios rarely speak in nuanced sentences. So “it’s not something we are currently considering” means just that. It’s not a no. And that, for what its worth, should offer some comfort to Millennium fans.
