Ryan Coogler just got the keys to one of the biggest sci-fi franchises ever. Hulu ordered his “X-Files” reboot to series on Tuesday, with Danielle Deadwyler and Himesh Patel playing the two FBI agents at the center of it.
These are brand new characters, not remakes of Fox Mulder and Dana Scully. The setup stays familiar though: two decorated agents who could not be more different get assigned to a division that was shut down years ago, the one that handled the cases nobody could explain.
Coogler wrote and directed the pilot himself, and he is coming off “Sinners,” the biggest run of his career. Original creator Chris Carter is back as an executive producer, Jennifer Yale runs the show day to day, and the cast around the leads is loaded, with Steve Buscemi, Amy Madigan and Ben Foster in the mix.
“I’ve loved The X-Files for a long time.”
Ryan Coogler, in a statement on the series order
The order was never a sure thing. Hulu shot the pilot earlier this year and sat on the decision for months, and the same process just killed a “Buffy the Vampire Slayer” follow-up at the streamer. Coogler’s version made the cut.
No premiere date yet. What is locked in is the swing itself: the director behind “Black Panther” and “Sinners” rebuilding the show that made a generation scared of the woods, with two new faces holding the flashlights. The truth is still out there. Now it has a new team on the case.
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