Black Panther director Ryan Coogler is set to reboot The X-Files without Mulder and Scully.
Speaking on Canadian radio show On the Coast, original series creator Chris Carter revealed that the rebooted version will take the story in a different direction with a diverse cast.
“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,” said Carter.
On changing the show’s focus, he added: “We’re so steeped in conspiracies now. The X-Files dealt with a central conspiracy, but now the world is so full of conspiracies that I think that it would be a different show.”
The X-Files debuted on Fox in the US in 1993 and ran until 2002. Two movies in 1998 and 2008 followed, before an additional two seasons arrived in 2016 and 2018.
David Duchovny and Gillian Anderson starred respectively as Mulder and Scully, two FBI Secret Agents investigating alien-related conspiracy theories as well as supernatural occurrences.
The new series is still in the early stages of development and would come from Coogler as part of his deal with Walt Disney Television. No casting or plot details have yet been revealed.
Back in August 2021, Duchovny said he wouldn’t rule out another X-Files reboot after Anderson previously stated she wouldn’t be interested in a return.
“I know what Gillian said, but there’s no reason for me to say anything like that,” Duchovny told The Guardian. “Maybe she said it just so that people would stop asking her.
“But for me, life is life: I don’t know anything about what’s coming, I don’t just say no to things like that. It’s not how I function.”
When asked whether he had grown tired of playing the character at any point, the actor responded: “Oh, no. What was interesting when we went back to do like the reboot seasons, was how daunting it was at first. How do I do this guy again? Who is this guy?”
He added: “He was a bit lost to me at first. But then I thought, well, now he’s older. He’s different. And so am I. So it’s not like trying to do the same thing.”
