The X-Files creator Chris Carter may have dropped the bombshell that an exciting new director is bringing his vision to the franchise: Black Panther helmer Ryan Coogler.
The original sci-fi series, which ran 9 seasons from 1993-2002 on Fox, charted the adventures of FBI investigators Mulder (David Duchovny) and Scully (Gillian Anderson) on the beat of strange and surreal occurrences, featuring monster-of-the-week plots and multi-season-arcing storylines that firmly established X-Files as one of sci-fi television's best offerings. The popular series was revived for successful 10th and 11th seasons from 2016-2018. The franchise also featured two films, The X-Files (1998) and X-Files: I Want to Believe (2018).
Carter's almost offhanded comment during a recent On the Coast With Gloria Macarenko. He revealed a new installment of The X-Files may be on tap for Coogler, who has already made a name in Hollywood for directing blockbuster films like the Black Panther franchise and Creed. "We're so steeped in conspiracy theories now, y'know? The X-Files dealt with a central conspiracy, but now the world is so full of conspiracies that I think it'd be a different show," Carter said. "Actually, 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."
This is exciting news for both fans of Coogler's recent work and X-Files aficionados, with the idea of a more diverse cast of FBI operatives and sinister factions bringing new life to an already popular franchise. If it pans out, the endeavor joins discussions of another potential Carter and Fox project, an animated spinoff comedy series, The X-Files: Albuquerque, already in development. Coogler, who has been nominated for Academy Award for his work on the big screen, seems a great option to head up a possible revival of the popular sci-fi series that has cemented itself well into a canon in which many other similar series have emerged, including Fox's Fringe and SyFy’s Warehouse 13.
A new breath of life into an established franchise would no doubt prove popular on whatever network it managed to land on, which most likely means Fox or FX, which has thrived with similar franchises like American Horror Story, running for 11 seasons with more to come, and its spinoff, American Horror Stories, whose third season is debuting this summer. Audiences seem primed for long-format horror and sci-fi, for which the original Mulder and Scully set the standard. X-Files Fans are excitedly waiting to hear more about this potential revamp.
X-Files is available on Disney Plus.