Now that Sinners is playing in theaters (and performing exceptionally well), filmmaker Ryan Coogler is pvioting to a different project: a reboot of the long-running and hit sci-fi series The X-Files. Well, recently, Dana Scully herself, Gillian Anderson, chimed in on Coogler's idea for a revival and she's very supportive of the Sinners director taking charge.
During a recent appearance on This Morning, via Digital Spy, the actress said she spoke with Coogler and gave him her blessing.
"What I said was, 'If anyone were to do it, I think you would be the perfect person,'" Anderson revealed to This Morning hosts Ben Shephard and Cat Deeley. She also told Coogler he could call her and wished him luck with the project.
The actress followed up by saying that "if the phone rings and it's good, and it feels like the right time... perhaps."
With Anderson suggesting that she might someday be ready to reprise her role as Dana Scully, fans are now more excited than ever for Coogler's take to move forward. The director previously discussed the reboot during an interview with Last Podcast on the Left. According to him, The X-Files reboot is the immediate next project on his slate and he promises that some episodes they have in mind, "if we do our jobs right, will be really f***ing scary."
News of this planned new take on The X-Files was first reported in 2023, when series creator Chris Carter confirmed he and Coogler had discussed bringing the series back. The original series ran for nine seasons from 1993 to 2002 and followed FBI agents Fox Mulder (David Duchovny) and Dana Scully (Anderson) as they investigated various cases of supposed paranormal activity and extraterrestrials.
Then, in 2016, Carter brought the show back for two additional seasons that aired until March 2018. Seasons 10 and 11 were quite polarizing with long-time fans of the show, some of who felt the series should have been left alone. But Coogler has the kind of exciting creative energy we need for a show like this one and I'd love to see his take on it, especially if Anderson and Duchovny will consider returning.
Anderson is currently promoting her biographical drama film The Salt Path. She also stars in the upcoming Tron: Ares, set to release this October, and she's part of Ben Affleck's crime thriller Animals.