Ryan Coogler’s ‘X-Files Reboot Finds One of Its Leads

X-Files hit at a time when I was young enough to be very impressionable, but old enough that my parents really didn’t care or monitor what I watched. They had pretty loose guardrails to begin with, but once I hit, like, eight, it was open season. So, I was watching things even if they scared the hell out of me, and X-Files certainly accomplished that task. But, all these years later, it’s not the scares that I think of, it’s the two lead characters.

I thought Fox Mulder and Dana Scully were the coolest. Not only did they have an incredible job seeking out aliens and other phenomena, but they also solved crimes in the process. Yes, there were certainly some cases that have stuck with me, like one where I think Giovanni Ribisi can summon lightning, and also, Jack Black is there? There’s one where a Frankenstein or Quasimodo-type person goes to see Cher in Vegas? But Mulder and Scully are in my mind clear as day.

I’m sure that’s the case for many people, which is why casting rumors were swirling around Ryan Coogler’s reboot of the hit show. Not only would he be (potentially) replacing two actors whose careers were skyrocketed by X-Files, but they also appeared in a semi-reboot within the last ten years. They’re still tied to those roles in people’s minds. Now, we know one of the actors Ryan Coogler has chosen in this unenviable search: Danielle Deadwyler.

Deadwyler has been working for some time, but has seen her star rise over the last five or six years. 2024 was a huge year for her, during which she starred in films like The Piano Lesson and Carry-On. This year, she’s set to appear in the newest season of Euphoria. She’s hot, right now, and Coogler casting her as one of the leads in his X-Files reboot feels like a huge get for all involved. It will draw more attention to Deadwyler and give the show a commanding performer.

Details on the reboot are still scarce, but we do know that Coogler will be directing the pilot, which is very exciting. There’s also a logline for the show (via THR) that reads, “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.” If the division has been shuttered, it’s safe to say that this exists in the same universe as the original show. So, we may see one (or both) of the former leads return. But I hope they wait and give Deadwyler (and whoever her partner ends up being) a chance to shine.