It was just two months ago we were excited to see a new trailer for project with The X-Files stamped on it, only to see it was a movie director’s cut from creator Chris Carter. The prospect of the actual series returning has sparked excitement before. Back in 2016-2018 a surprise tenth and eleventh season was like a visit to see old friends, pure nostalgia that also reminded fans how the original nine seasons can never be topped. Nearly a decade has passed, and here we are again. But this time Mulder/David Duchovny), Scully/Gillian Anderson, and creator Chris Carter won’t be a part of the equation, absent the possibility of cameos and flashbacks for the stars. Ryan Coogler, best known for Black Panther and bringing a similar reboot to the Rocky franchise, will be writing and directing the pilot episode for the next generation of The X-Files.
If you liked how the last reboot seasons in 2016-2018 followed a new pair of agents, Robbie Amell’s Agent Miller and Lauren Ambrose’s Agent Einstein, you’ll be prepped for what’s ahead. The show will focus on two of the stars of the great sci-fi series Station Eleven (reviewed here), Danielle Deadwyler and Himesh Patel, reuniting on the small screen this time as agents rebuilding those X-Files in a shaky world filled with more conspiracies than ever before. The best news? Coogler has said he plans to continue the “monster of the week” format of the original instead of a season-long case, the weakness that has bogged down many series over the past decade.
But just as the first 218 episodes of the series featured generations of Hollywood’s best supporting actors and future leading actors, this new series brings some street cred, too. It will include Academy Award winner Amy Madigan, plus genre royalty and fan faves like Steve Buscemi, Lochlyn Munro, Tantoo Cardinal, and Ben Foster.
Three-time Academy Award-winner and frequent Coogler collaborator Ludwig Göransson has already completed the musical score for the pilot episode.
Since 2001 the best way fans have been able to revisit Mulder and Scully is via several comic book series. Check out our coverage here and an earlier Season 11 effort here at borg for some of them, with The X-Files: Year Zero as the best of the pack. Countless series have tried to emulate the original, including October Faction, Project Blue Book, Supernatural, Stranger Things, and even True Detective, just for starters.
A generation of TV viewers showed up for The X-Files between 1993 and 2001. I hung Fox Mulder’s I Want to Believe UFO poster from The X-Files on the back of my office door. Years later my wife and I were able to hang with series co-star Mitch Pileggi (Director Skinner) at Comic-Con. Can Coogler capture the magic for fans again?
The X-Files, the new series, is expected next year on Hulu and Disney+. Meet the new leads on Station Eleven, streaming now on HBO Max. Watch the original The X-Files on Pluto TV, Hulu and Disney+.
C.J. Bunce / Editor / borg
