Ryan Coogler, the writer-director behind Fruitvale Station (2013) and Black Panther (2018), “wants to believe” — or that’s the rumor, anyway. During an interview celebrating the 30th anniversary of The X-Files, creator Chris Carter revealed that Coogler is in talks to “remount The X-Files with a diverse cast.” The groundbreaking series aired from 1993 to 2001 on Fox, starring Gillian Anderson and David Duchovny as Special Agents Dana Scully and Fox Mulder, respectively.
Although Coogler hasn’t confirmed his involvement in an X-Files reboot, Disney’s acquisition of 21st Century Fox has already led to the green-lighting of other reboots of popular series. “He’s got his work cut out for him,” Carter said of Coogler’s alleged involvement in the X-Files remount. While his assessment isn’t wrong, it’s also true that the contemporary television, cultural, and political landscapes are dramatically different than they were 30 years ago.
Is X-Files Getting Rebooted?
Proximity, the multimedia company Ryan Coogler co-founded with his wife and Hollywood producer Zinzi Coogler (Creed), is known for diverse film projects. Past credits range from the Oscar-winning Judas and the Black Messiah (2021) to the documentary Stephen Curry: Underrated (2023). Currently, the company’s only officially announced TV project is Ironheart, an entry in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
While Coogler (and Proximity) have yet to officially comment on Chris Carter’s reveal, an X-Files reboot seems inevitable. In today’s media landscape, streaming platforms love two things: safe bets and nostalgia. Given The X-Files' devout fan base, the series is a perfect candidate for a 2023 update. After the original run of the series ended in the early 2000s, The X-Files has spawned two films and a short-lived revival, which aired from 2016 to 2018.
Star Gillian Anderson is reportedly uninterested in returning (yet again) to the series, which kind of puts a nail in the coffin of the series’ continuation. The show needs both its skeptic and its believer. It’s that dynamic — the push and pull between Scully and Mulder – that makes it all come together. With that in mind, a reboot seems more likely than a comeback.
How Ryan Coogler's X-Files Can Explore Contemporary Conspiracy Theories
A new or rebooted series within the world of The X-Files is a tall order, even someone as successful as Ryan Coogler. Current cultural and political landscapes make the project even more challenging. Today, conspiracy theorists aren’t fringe figures — sequestered, as Mulder was in the 90s, to windowless basement offices. Instead, they are emboldened and amplified by the internet. The ubiquity of social media allows misinformation to spread rapidly. Conspiracy theorists now build large followings easily.
This all has real-world consequences. Take, for example, online communities that claimed the COVID-19 pandemic was a hoax. That dangerous line of thinking resulted in deaths. Watching conspiratorial harm play out in the news makes TV shows about shady government entities and people who “want to believe” more difficult to stomach. Even the 2016 revival of The X-Files had trouble toeing that line. The series wasn’t escapist as it might have felt in the less political, UFO-centric 90s version. Instead, the revival leaned into current events — to mixed results. Watching fan-favorite characters tackle current events can feel on-the-nose at best. At worst, it means platforming those who spread misinformation.
This was a difficult notion for The X-Files revival to square with. One of its protagonists, Fox Mulder, was defined by his belief in conspiracies and the supernatural. While the monsters and mythology remain in the revival, the two-season continuation of The X-Files grapples with the harmful epidemic of conspiracy theories in the U.S. In Season 11, Mulder tackles this head-on, saying:
“Who’d have thought we’d look back with nostalgia and say that was a simpler time, Scully? Everything we feared came to pass.”
In one episode, Mulder remarks on his inability to suss out hidden connections these days, wondering if the world is too unhinged now — even for him. Given the erosion of trust in America’s current political landscape, it’s hard to imagine shadowy plots orchestrated by Cigarette Smoking Men and eager-to-colonize extraterrestrials. Long story short, conspiracy theories in the 2020s are too dangerous to seem like fun TV fare.
So, given this particular environment, how can Ryan Coogler’s reported reboot of The X-Files succeed? It’s hard to imagine that an X-Files reboot could focus solely on harmless but fascinating conspiracies, like UFOs and the existence of Bigfoot, without also exploring the harmful ones. Perhaps the answer is as simple as looking at why people believe.
Mulder’s belief in far-flung ideas came from a desire to reveal truth and save humanity. Today, most conspiracy theorists aren’t as well-intentioned. Some make money off of misinformation, while others gain social currency. Not to mention, the mainstreaming of outlandish conspiracies serves to distract from other more pressing issues. Can an X-Files reboot balance exploration of belief with its monster-of-the-week origins? That remains to be seen, but Coogler, who balances various genres expertly, seems like a great creative to lead this vision.
Why Did The X-Files End?
After nine seasons, the original run of The X-Files came to an end. An incredibly successful series, The X-Files had staying power — even if the show’s final seasons were muddled and confusing. The uneven writing was only part of the equation that led to its demise. The distinct lack of Mulder and Scully in later seasons didn’t help. By Season 8, Duchovny appeared in episodes less often, while Anderson waited until Season 9 to pump the brakes.
Mulder and Scully are the core of the show, from their begrudging partnership to the will-they-won’t-they dynamic that eventually emerged. The new agents, John Doggett (Robert Patrick) and Monica Reyes (Annabeth Gish), didn’t resonate with audiences in the same way. Not to mention, Doggett and Reyes were heavily involved in the investigation of super soldiers — a plot line that more than overstayed its welcome. Even to the greenest X-Files fan, that’s just not as intriguing as the show’s signature monster-of-the-week, supernatural fare.
Originally planned to end after its fifth season (the Season 5 finale is even entitled “The End”) The X-Files stuck around. It was hard for Fox to cancel the series at the height of its popularity, even if critics were less enthused as time went on. According to Carter, The X-Files’ late-season ratings faltered for another huge reason: the September 11 attacks, which occurred in 2001, a few months before Season 9 began airing. The tragedy had a profound impact, leaving viewers less enamored with shows about government conspiracies.
Why Was The X-Files Revived?
In 1998, The X-Files made the leap to the silver screen with a feature film of the same name. The movie not only starred Scully and Mulder, but fan-favorite characters like FBI Assistant Director Walter Skinner (Mitch Pileggi) and the ever-elusive Cigarette Smoking Man (William B. Davis). The film opens with a black, alien substance engulfing a young Texan boy. Later, Mulder and Scully arrive at a nearby government facility to disarm a bomb — only to learn that the government planted the bomb itself, eager to cover up the existence of the extraterrestrial virus.
Despite mixed reviews, the series soldiered on. A few years after the show ended, Carter and the team returned with a second feature, 2008’s The X Files: I Want to Believe. The alleged standalone film left viewers scratching their heads and, even though Anderson and Duchovny’s chemistry endured, it wasn’t enough to elevate the messy return.
Still, that didn’t mark the end of the franchise. In 2016, Carter revived the series for another two seasons, which picked up where Season 9 left off. “Uneven” is the best to describe this revival. The episodes that served to further the show’s long-running, overarching alien conspiracy thread were pretty awful. However, some standalone episodes marked a return to the series’ successful, history-making formula. Those monster-of-the-week-style cases made Seasons 10 and 11 (mostly) worth the watch for X-Files diehards.
Will Scully and Mulder Return (Again)?
Currently, there are no plans for Scully and Mulder to return. And it’s probably for the best if Mulder and Scully aren’t involved in a reboot. Coogler’s re-imagining needs to stand on its own and have room to do its own thing. Already, an X-Files reboot is a tall order. Coogler, or whoever helms the project, doesn’t need to make the shadow of the original show and its unforgettable stars more apparent.