The streaming service Hulu has officially greenlit a reboot of the iconic series The X-Files. Ryan Coogler is scheduled to write, direct, and produce the new iteration, while original creator Chris Carter is returning as an executive producer. This move signals Hulu's investment in high-profile genre content, though the exact premiere date and filming schedule have not been announced.
Casting details reveal that Himesh Patel, formerly of EastEnders, and BAFTA-nominated actress Danielle Deadwyler have joined the reboot as lead characters. They will portray two highly decorated but vastly different FBI agents who form an unlikely bond when assigned to a long-shuttered division devoted to cases involving unexplained phenomena. Patel and Deadwyler will play entirely new characters, not reimagined versions of the original protagonists Fox Mulder and Dr. Dana Scully, though the specific titles or roles of these new agents remain undisclosed.
I've been doing this since I was 16. When you're a teenager and you have acne, it's the worst thing in the world. But then when you've got acne in front of millions of people every week in EastEnders, it's a whole other thing. It was rough. You just kind of feel defective because you're surrounded by actors. Everyone gets spots, but I just felt the pressure.
Creative leadership for the reboot includes Jennifer Yale, who has been appointed as showrunner. With Coogler's involvement in writing and directing, the series aims to blend fresh perspectives with the supernatural intrigue that defined the original. The exact number of episodes or seasons planned has not been confirmed, leaving the scope of the project open-ended as development progresses.
Himesh Patel's career trajectory includes leaving EastEnders in 2016 after his character ran away with then-girlfriend Nancy Carter, and he shot to international fame in 2018 by securing the lead role in Yesterday, which became his breakthrough film. In 2024, Himesh Patel disclosed that struggling with acne while working on EastEnders as a teenager felt like the worst thing in the world. Patel and Deadwyler previously worked together on the 2021 miniseries Station Eleven, which may inform their on-screen chemistry in the reboot.
Several unknowns surround the reboot, including when exactly it will premiere or start filming, and whether other original cast members like David Duchovny or Gillian Anderson will make cameo appearances. Additionally, it is unclear how the reboot's storyline will connect to or diverge from the original series' mythology, leaving fans to speculate on potential narrative links. These details are expected to emerge as production advances, with Hulu likely to release more information in the coming months.