‘Sinners’ director Ryan Coogler teases his ‘scary’ X-Files series reboot

With Sinners currently in cinemas, director Ryan Coogler is looking to the future... And it’s looking mighty exciting. 

The acclaimed filmmaker behind Fruitvale Station and the Black Panther franchise had already been rumoured to be taking on the reboot of the beloved TV show The X-Files, but he’s now confirmed it’s his next project.  

Coogler appeared on a recent episode of Last Podcast On The Left to discuss his future plans and revealed that the sci-fi drama series is coming.  

“I’m working on X-Files. That’s what’s immediately next,” said Coogler. “So, I’ve been excited about that for a long time, and I’m fired up to get back to it, and that, you know, some of those episodes, if we do our jobs right, will be really fucking scary.” 

Music to our ears, as we’re big fans of the original show.

When it was announced, the reboot was set to see the franchise move away from the iconic characters Mulder and Scully, played by David Duchovny and Gillian Anderson. However, it now would appear that Coogler may have other plans for the legendary conspiracy-chasing FBI agents.  

He shared that he’s spoken to Gillian Anderson, and has his “fingers crossed” that she will potentially return - though it’s currently unclear in what capacity. 

“She’s incredible and fingers crossed there,” he said, explaining that Anderson was finishing up work on Tron: Ares the last time they talked. “We’re going to try to make something really great, bro, and make something for the real ‘X-Files’ fans and maybe find some new ones.” 

The X-Files originally ran for nine seasons from September 1993 to May 2002, with tenth and eleventh seasons arriving in 2016 and 2018. In total, 218 episodes were made – with an additional two feature films, The X-Files: Fight the Future (1998) and The X-Files: I Want to Believe (2008).

Coogler is developing the revival through his overall deal with Walt Disney Television.

Chris Carter, the creator of the original series, has stated he is supportive of the reboot even if he isn't involved in the project. In an interview with Inverse in September 2024, Carter said he was “looking forward to seeing what somebody else does with it."

As are we, since Coogler has proven he can breathe new life into existing IPs, with his Rocky reboot (2015’s Creed) and the way he handled bring Marvel’s Black Panther to the big screen. Both Black Panther (2018) and Black Panther: Wakanda Forever (2022) are some of the MCU’s most critically-acclaimed instalments.

Known for his top-notch storytelling, character-driven projects and socially relevant themes, Coogler is a great pick to reimagine The X-Files. Plus, he's shown with Sinners that he can nail horror and tension. The question is whether he’ll be bringing his lucky charm Michael B. Jordan with him, as the actor has starred in all his big screen projects to date...

Wouldn't that be something?

In Sinners, Jordan plays twin brothers who return home to rural Mississippi after a stint hustling for Al Capone in Chicago. They buy a piece of land with an old sawmill from a rumoured Klansman, intent on opening a juke joint. Then, vampires come a’knockin...

Coogler intertwines the history of America with the mythology of blues music and vampire lore to create something layered and truly exciting, a film which we called “one of the best films of the year so far.”

In our review, we said: “Sinners is first and foremost a film about music, specifically the blues. By establishing it as a sort of magical conduit between worlds but also across time, Coogler shows that blues music is not only a precious connection to the past and a reminder of post-slavery resilience but also a future refuge that can be exploited. In one virtuoso sequence, the director literalizes the power of music as a connecting ritual through visual and auditory anachronism; it’s an extended sequence destined to be one of 2025’s most spellbinding and memorable shots.” Read the full review here.

The original X-Files is streaming on Hulu and Disney+. If you're an X-Files newbie, check out our ranking of the show's best episodes.