Could The X Files be coming back to our screens with a diverse cast? We want to believe!
It’s been a long while since we last thought about The X Files. Fox’s supernatural sleuthing show, which catapulted its stars David Duchovny and Gillian Anderson to fame, was a television fixture in the 1990s.
Running for nine seasons, it saw two FBI Agents working on cases of the paranormal phenomena and becoming involved in government conspiracies, aliens and the like. Pairing Duchovny’s believer Fox Mulder with Anderson’s sceptic Dana Scully made for an engaging team and the sexual chemistry between the two didn’t hurt either.
After winding up in 2002, The X Files went on to have two big screen outings, as well as returning to television for additional short series in 2016 and 2018. It also spawned two spin-off shows, the short-lived The Lone Gunmen and Millennium.
Ryan Coogler
Now, thanks to a recent interview with the show’s creator Chris Carter, we’ve heard news of a possible new series. Speaking on the 27th March edition of On the Coast With Gloria Macarenko, celebrating 30 year since The X Files first began filming in Vancouver, Carter dropped a head-turning comment about the series’ future:
“I just spoke to a young man, Ryan Coogler, who is going to remount The X-Files with a diverse cast. So he’s got his work cut out for him, because we covered so much territory.”
Ryan Coogler, of course, is best known for his work within the Marvel Cinematic Universe. He helmed both Black Panther and its follow-up Black Panther: Wakanda Forever. He’s also working on a Wakanda based television series for Disney+ and has an executive producer role on the forthcoming Ironheart.
Whether he would seek to reboot The X Files or simply continue it, in the vein of the recent Quantum Leap revival, remains open to question. Reporting on the comments, TV Line drew a no comment from 20th Television, who made the original show – although they do suggest that Coogler’s version might not be for Fox. It’s worth at this point considering that, thanks to its Fox acquisition, the show’s rights now reside with Disney.
Either way, we’ll keep you posted.