Director Ryan Coogler is pondering a diverse reboot of The X-Files. According to Deadline, original series creator Chris Carter has been in discussion with Coogler about rebooting his legendary sci-fi series with a diverse cast. Carter told Gloria Macarenko on her podcast, “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.” Coogler, of course, is known for directing the first Creed and both Black Panther movies. His films are centered on celebrating diversity and undervalued cultures, particularly African Americans. He appears to aim to do that again with a diverse reboot of The X-Files.
Ryan Coogler Seeks to Make a Diverse Reboot of ‘The X-Files’
The X-Files is one of the most iconic sci-fi shows of all time, so much so that even people who have never seen the show will recognize its famous theme music. However, like many shows of its time, it has been scrutinized recently for lack of diversity. In 2017, Gillian Anderson, who played Dana Scully on the show, expressed some frustrations with it. This included the fact that during its 11th season, which was itself part of a reboot of the show, had no women on its writing team. Anderson also took to Twitter, lamenting that only two out of 207 episodes at the time had female directors. The X-Files has also faced criticism regarding its treatment of race, as is evident in a Vulture article from 2016 listing the most embarrassing episodes of the show.
What Ryan Coogler has in mind with his diverse reboot of The X-Files is unclear. His production company, Proximity Media, is currently under a five-year deal with Disney. Coogler serves as executive producer for the upcoming Disney+ series Ironheart and as both director and executive producer for an untitled Wakanda series.