Ryan Coogler‘s long-gestating The X-Files reboot, starring Emmy nominee Himesh Patel (The Odyssey, Station Eleven) and Danielle Deadwyler (The Bell Jar, The Chaperones), has been ordered to series at Hulu.
From Onyx Collective and 20th Television, the reimagining of Chris Carter‘s classic series follows two highly decorated but vastly different FBI agents, played by Deadwyler and Patel, who form an unlikely bond when they are assigned to a long-shuttered division devoted to cases involving unexplained phenomena.
Sinners filmmaker Coogler wrote, directed and executive produced the pilot via his Proximity Media. He executive produces with showrunner Jennifer Yale. Executive producers also include Zinzi Coogler and Sev Ohanian for Proximity Media and The X-Files creator Carter. Co-executive producers are Simone Harris for Proximity Media, along with Deadwyler and Patel.
“I’ve loved The X-Files for a long time, so getting the chance to write and direct the pilot has meant a great deal to me,” said Coogler. “What Chris Carter created is special, and we wanted to honor everything that made the original series connect with so many people while also finding our own way into that world. Danielle and Himesh, along with the rest of our cast, have brought such original perspectives and performances to these characters, and watching that come together has been one of the most rewarding parts of the experience. I couldn’t have asked for better collaborators than my crew, colleagues at Proximity Media and our partners at Onyx Collective and 20th Television. I’m grateful for the trust and support they’ve given us as we take on this new chapter.”
The series order caps a more than three-year journey for the project, which falls under Coogler’s five-year exclusive television deal with Disney, the parent company of Hulu, 20th TV and Onyx.
Carter first revealed during a 2023 podcast interview that he had spoken with Coogler who was “going to remount The X Files with a diverse cast,” adding, “He’s got his work cut out for him because we covered so much territory.”
“We’re looking forward to continuing this journey as executive producers and especially excited to work closely with Jennifer Yale, Simone Harris, and the entire cast and crew as we bring this new chapter of The X-Files to life,” said Zinzi Coogler, Sev Ohanian and Ryan Coogler, founders of Proximity Media. “It was also incredibly special to have our fellow Proximity co-founder Ludwig Göransson contribute the score for the pilot, making this a true collaboration across the Proximity family.”
Carter’s original X-Files starred Gillian Anderson and David Duchovny as FBI Special Agents Dana Scully and Fox Mulder, who investigate cases involving paranormal phenomena. The series premiered on Fox in 1993 and ran for nine seasons. It spawned two feature films, The X-Files (1998) and The X-Files: I Want to Believe (2008), as well as a 2016 revival, which aired on Fox for two seasons.
