Hulu’s planned revival of The X-Files is finally moving fast. After years of development with Black Panther director and recent Oscar winner Ryan Coogler, the new take on Chris Carter’s iconic TV series is gearing up to start filming the pilot soon. The new series will seemingly arrive without some of the elements that made the original show so beloved, as Carter himself has confirmed he’s not involved and the new show has cast Danielle Deadwyler and Himesh Patel in its two lead roles. There’s perhaps still room for the classic characters to return, but nothing has yet been confirmed.
Original The X-Files star Gillian Anderson has previously teased talks with Coogler about returning to the role of Dana Scully, but her long-time co-star David Duchovny hasn’t yet chimed in, until now. Speaking with The Hollywood Reporter, the actor who appeared as Fox Mulder across two movies and 194 episodes of TV teased talks about a return, telling the trade: “There have been talks about certain things, but there’s nothing concrete at this point.” That said, Duchovny had more to say that might imply Fox Mulder’s return is far from guaranteed
Despite a cheeky hint that may imply talks about coming back as Mulder, his last appearance as the character was the Season 11 finale over eight years ago, Duchovny further confirmed to the outlet that he hasn’t read the script for the revival’s pilot, but has spoken with Coogler about the show. Duchovny went on to note that he doesn’t “know what the world of his show is” or if his character even exists in the series. All of that may lead fans to believe he’s being coy about an appearance, or perhaps making a sly reference to the show being set in an alternate universe, but it’s all unclear.
That said, Duchovny did have some advice for the show if it does get picked up as a series for Hulu. The actor noted that he wishes the team luck but that the key element to making the show really work will come down to who is in the writer’s room, with Duchovny spotlighting some of the high-profile writers from the original show, like Vince Gilligan, the Morgan brothers, and Howard Gordon.
“We were blessed to have a writers’ room that could generate 20 to 25 movie ideas. I’m not going to insult something like The Pitt, because that’s great television. But The X-Files was a movie idea every week…So I hope Ryan doesn’t have to do 25 [episodes] and only has to do 10 or 12. And I hope he’s got great writers, because that’s really the key to making that show work.”
So far the only details we have about The X-Files revival’s behind-the-scenes team are that Coogler will write and direct the pilot, while Jennifer Yale will serve as showrunner. Coogler is fresh off his Oscar win for Best Original Screenplay for Sinners, while Yale has a lot of TV work under her belt with credits including Legion, Outlander, and recent Apple TV hit Your Friends & Neighbors. The two of them are find starting point for The X-Files’ writing staff, but as Duchovny notes, they’ll need good ideas to keep this one going, especially if they’re doing it without one of the most iconic stars from the original show.
