After years of speculation and rumor, Fox has finally announced that a sequel to the 1998 X-FILES feature film will start production on Dec. 10 in Vancouver with an eye on July 25, 2008 for a U.S. release, reports the trades. David Duchovny and Gillian Anderson will be returning.

X-FILES creator Chris Carter is directing from a screenplay he co-wrote with Frank Spotnitz. Both writers will also be producing. Fox production VP Steve Asbell is shepherding.

The plot for the supernatural thriller is being kept on the QT. All we know is that it will continue FBI agents Fox Mulder (Duchovny) and Dana Scully (Anderson) dogged pursuit of the truth.

The TV series had a nine-season run on Fox, ending in 2002. The original X-FILES movie made $187 million globally.