Ryan Coogler’s The X-Files reboot gets major update and series star is also confirmed

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Award-winning director Ryan Coogler is leading a fresh start for the classic sci-fi series, The X-Files. An actor nominated for a BAFTA Award will star in the first episode.

The director of the hit horror film Sinners is currently attending awards ceremonies. The film recently received a record-breaking 16 Oscar nominations, including one for Best Picture.

Following his work as an executive producer on Marvel’s Ironheart, Ryan Coogler is developing a new version of The X-Files for television. Actress Danielle Deadwyler has been cast as a lead in the series, as initially reported by Variety.

The show will once again center on two FBI agents with very different backgrounds. They’ll be paired up to reopen and lead a division that previously investigated strange and unexplainable events.

It’s still unknown if Janelle Deadwyler will play the believer (like David Duchovny’s Mulder) or the skeptic (like Gillian Anderson’s Scully) in this classic duo. Mulder is known for embracing the supernatural, while Scully always demands proof.

The actor is famous for her work in the series Station Eleven and From Scratch, as well as critically praised movies like The Harder They Fall and Till. Her performance in Till earned her nominations for both a BAFTA Award and a SAG Award.

Hulu, now part of Disney Plus in the UK, is creating a new version of the show, but so far has only approved the production of a single pilot episode.

Despite the uncertainty, many are hopeful that The X-Files will be fully revived as a series, given the talented team involved. Chris Carter, who created the original show, is executive producing, and Jennifer Yale (known for her work on ‘The Copenhagen Test’) will be leading the creative side as showrunner.

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Ryan Coogler is writing, directing, and producing a new installment of The X-Files because his mother was a huge fan of the show. He feels that’s as good a reason as any to bring the series back, and he was personally motivated to do so.

He told Variety last October that his mother is incredibly important to him, and this project is a huge deal because of that. He wants to make both her and his fans proud, and he shared that she’s already excited about some of the material he’s written.

It’s currently unknown if the new X-Files series will connect to the events of the original show. According to Variety, neither David Duchovny nor Gillian Anderson are currently involved in the reboot.

Anderson had previously stated in January 2018 that she had finished with her role as Scully. She later explained on Duchovny’s podcast that she hadn’t been happy with how her character was developing in the last season of the show.

Since then, she’s stayed very active, taking on several prominent roles. These include Dr. Jean Milburn in Sex Education, Margaret Thatcher in The Crown, and recently, Gina in the highly praised Channel 4 series Trespasses.

Because of this, Ryan Coogler’s version of The X-Files could be a fresh start, completely different from the original. However, Hollywood currently prefers ‘legacy sequels’ – movies that bring back beloved characters from the past for short, exciting appearances that fans enjoy.

We’ll bring you further updates on this high-profile project as they come in.

The X-Files is available to stream on Disney Plus. Sign-up to Disney Plus from £5.99 a month.

Don’t miss out on The X-Files! Add it to your watchlist on the TopMob: What to Watch app. Download the app today for daily TV suggestions, articles, and more.

Authors

David CraigSenior Drama Writer

David Craig writes about TV and streaming dramas and comedies for TopMob. Before that, he contributed to Starburst Magazine, hosted the Winter King Podcast on ITVX, and earned a degree in Journalism from the University of Sheffield.

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2026-02-24 18:09