Image credit: Fox
Ryan Coogler shared a major update on the reboot of The X-Files and gave details on how Vince Gilligan helped him with it. Notably, Gilligan, the creator of Breaking Bad, Better Call Saul, and Pluribus, performed several duties on the original X-Files show for Fox, including writing and directing, as well as serving as an executive producer.
Ryan Coogler talks about The X-Files reboot
Coogler is currently working on the scripts of The X-Files reboot series, according to The Hollywood Reporter. He has stated in previous interviews how his mother’s love for the original series inspired him to take on the project. “There are times when I wish that I could separate and have a day where I’m not anxious about having to deliver the draft,” the Black Panther director told the outlet.
Coogler met Gilligan in an elevator in France while attending the Deauville American Film Festival in 2013, and learned about Gilligan’s tenure on The X-Files. Fast forward a few years, and Coogler contacted Gilligan about the reboot. “Vince gave me a couple hours of advice over Zoom and answered all the questions I had — I’ve got them all in my notebook, and I go back to it often,” he said.
This isn’t the first time Coogler has spoken about his discussion with Gilligan about television. He told Josh Horowitz of the Happy Sad Confused podcast that he got advice on how to make television from Gilligan.
The original X-Files series aired for nine seasons on Fox from September 10, 1993, to May 19, 2002. Seasons 10 and 11 subsequently came out in 2016 and 2018. The original series’ cast includes David Duchovny as Fox Mulder, Gillian Anderson as Dana Scully, Robert Patrick as John Doggett, Annabeth Gish as Monica Reyes, William B. Davis as Cigarette Smoking Man, and Mitch Pileggi as Walter Skinner.
It remains unclear whether Duchovny and Anderson will reprise their respective roles in the Disney reboot. The series does not yet have a release date.
