We know one thing for certain about the future of “The X-Files,“ and that’s that star Gillian Anderson is moving on from the long-running series once this year’s Season 11 comes to a close. Previously, creator Chris Carter had stated that he’s out if Anderson is out, but now he doesn’t seem so certain that Anderson’s exit will close up the files.

In a chat with Digital Spy, Carter hinted at a potential future for the show.

“I think that certainly The X-Files has more life in it, there are more stories to tell, with Gillian or without,” Carter told the site. “I’m sorry to see her go, I’ve never actually considered doing this show without her, so is this the end? It’s the end of something, I don’t know if it’s the beginning of something new.”

Carter continued, “But certainly we will have to all put our heads together and figure out where to go from here.”

If the show does continue past Season 11, Carter noted, Scully would certainly still be an important aspect of future seasons, even if she doesn’t actually appear on screen.

“I always thought of David the way I thought about the child William [Mulder and Scully’s child], as an absent center,” Carter explains. “Even when he wasn’t there, he was the center of everyone’s concern, and the stories revolved around him. I think that’s an interesting problem for storytellers and I think that if The X-Files is to go forward then Scully would be a similar absent center.”

But let’s not get too far ahead of ourselves. We still have 5 episodes of Season 11 to look forward to, with the next one airing this Wednesday, February 7, on Fox!