I’m getting so excited for Ryan Coogler’s X-Files reboot. I was a huge fan of the original series, but basically wrote it off after the not-so-great revival seasons. However, I’m very much looking forward to getting Coogler’s fresh take on the concept. It’s been previously announced that Danielle Deadwyler was cast in the Dana Scully role and that Jennifer Yale will serve as showrunner. This week, it was announced that Himesh Patel has been cast in the Fox Mulder role. Himesh has previously been in Yesterday, Tenet, and Station Eleven. He’s also appearing in Christopher Nolan’s upcoming The Odyssey.
If, unlike me, you’re not sure whether you want to return to the X-Files’ world of monsters and conspiracies, then I have some good news. Coogler has been trying to convince Gillian Anderson to reprise the role of Agent Dana Scully for a while. She has yet to confirm anything, but she has read the script for the pilot and thinks it’s great.
Gillian Anderson is hyping up Ryan Coogler‘s X-Files reboot and praising the pilot after reading the script. Hulu ordered a pilot for the long-gestating reboot, which will be written and directed by Oscar-winner Ryan Coogler.
During an appearance at Awesome Con, Anderson teased the pilot, revealing she had had “a few conversations” with the Sinners filmmaker, which could lead to her reprising her role of Agent Dana Scully.
“He’s such a cool guy and so talented,” Anderson said of Coogler, adding that “the pilot script is really good.”
“I would say, have an open mind and give it a chance because it’s gonna be f***ing cool,” she said. “It’s something different. It’s different, and it’s special, so give it a break.”
In February, Deadline reported Danielle Deadwyler (The Piano Lesson) was set to co-lead the pilot in which two highly decorated but vastly different FBI agents form an unlikely bond when they are assigned to a long-shuttered division devoted to cases involving unexplained phenomena.
Jennifer Yale (The Copenhagen Test) is set to be the showrunner of the supernatural series.
Oh, Ryan totally gave her a copy of the pilot script in order to entice her to join the series. I can’t imagine that she’d return in a regular or even recurring role. Scully might guest though and somehow give the new agents her blessing. She revealed this during a fan convention, making it seem more likely that she’ll make an appearance. As someone who has attended San Diego Comic-Con for almost 20 years, I know you don’t hype a project unless you’re planning on being involved, even in the smallest of ways. So far, there’s been no news about whether or not David Duchovny will return, but I also wouldn’t mind it. I still stick to my theory that out of all of the original cast members, we’ll see Mitch Pileggi reprise his role as AD Skinner.
Here’s Gillian’s appearance at Awesome Con, queued up to that part:
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- Gillian Anderson on the Red Carpet at the EE BAFTA Film Awards 2026 on Sunday 22 February 2026 at Royal Festival Hall, London. .,Image: 1077544347, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: World Rights – Julie Edwards/Avalon.Red, Model Release: no, Credit line: Julie Edwards/Avalon
I love everything Ryan Coogler does, I love this casting, I loved the X-Files – give this to me now!
Himesh Patel, okay, yum. I’m endlessly curious about what this will be like. I think they’re even filming in Vancouver. It’s the waiting that’s going to be hard.
I think Gillian is the best part of the original series. She is a better actor than David Dachovny and anchored the entire series. The orginal series mythology episodes are hard to rewatch because so much of the narrative is focused on Scully being abused. Chris Carter badly boggled the reboot. The last scene in the reboot finale enraged me because it undermined Scully’s entire character arch. I am glad she set a firm limit and refused to participate without different writers/producers. I bet she will come back in some capacity because this cast looks fantastic and Ryan is a phenomenal talent. Hopefully, that slimy executive who undermined the Buffy reboot sits down and shuts up. He probably enjoyed the Scully abuse in the original and couldn’t wrap his wee brain around Buffy kicking a$$ (when not undermined by Joss’s pathology).
I mean yeah, Coogler just won an Oscar for his screenplay of Sinners, I would hope his pilot script is good! Truly, while I would love to see a little cameo of Scully, I hope it’s not much because I really want the focus to be on the new characters.
The old series “monster” episodes were always my favourite – I couldn’t care less about the whole alien mythology stuff, it got so convoluted.
I don’t mind the whole alien mythology in theory but yes as you said it got convoluted to the point of being nothingness. I could see Ryan doing some interesting stories about the ideas of monsters and government conspiracies mixed in with history. There’s some really interesting paths he could take.
I really hope the reboot shoots in Vancouver. All that moodiness etc. and the scenery was a really big part of the show. And it really suffered when it moved to Los Angeles. Of course I am biased because I am in Vancouver! One of the opening shots in the pilot for the original show was just down the road for where I live.