One half of the new X-Files duo has been cast.
The reboot by Sinners director Ryan Coogler will be led by Danielle Deadwyler, according to Deadline. Deadwyler will play the Scully to a yet-to-be-casted new version of Fox Mulder. Like the original ‘90s drama, the new series will follow two FBI agents who specialize in the unexplained. Coogler’s involvement in the new version of the series, which will stream on Hulu, was first revealed by the original series’ creator, Chris Carter, in 2023.
Deadwyler is known for her roles as murdered teen Emmett Till’s mother in Till (2022), the Netflix western The Harder They Fall (2021), and the streamer’s adaptation of The Piano Lesson (2021).
Coogler will write and direct the pilot of the “diverse” version of the series. He confirmed his own involvement for the first time in April, telling Last Podcast on the Left, “I’ve been excited about that for a long time, and I’m fired up to get back to it. Some of those episodes, if we do our jobs right, will be really f---ing scary. We’re gonna try to make something really great, bro, and really be something for the real X-Files fans, and maybe find some new ones,” he continued.
He also revealed at the time that he’d had a conversation with the original Scully, “the great Gillian Anderson,” about the series. “She’s incredible. Fingers crossed,” that she could be involved in some way, he added.
Anderson was equally enthusiastic about her potential involvement, telling ITV’s This Morning that she gave Coogler her stamp of approval to take over the series. “I spoke to him, and what I said was, ‘If anyone were to do it, I think you are the perfect person, and best of luck,’” she said. “At some point, if the phone rings and it’s good and it feels like the right time, then perhaps” she could make an appearance, she added.
The original X-Files series starred Anderson and David Duchovny and ran for nine seasons from 1993, followed by a brief 2-season 2016 revival in which Anderson and Duchovny reprised their roles. Coolger will prioritize the reboot as Sinners sweeps the 2026 awards season as the most-Oscar nominated film in the Academy’s history.
On Sunday, Coogler became the first Black person to win Best Screenplay at the BAFTAs, where Sinners also won Best Supporting Actress and Best Original Score.
