Ryan Coolger Says He’s Reviving ‘The X-Files’ For His Super-Fan Mother: “I Want To Do Right By Her & The Fans”

Coming off the huge success of his original peroid vampire flick “Sinners,” Ryan Coogler has now moved his attention to “The X-Files” that sees him tackling the beloved sci-fi mystery series (had an earworm of a theme song) that previously saw pair of charming FBI Agents investigating extremely odd cases that featured govnerment conspiraies/cover-ups, the occult, aliens, monsters, and the supernatural.

Some nifty new comments by Coogler (via Variety) from a recent weekend screening of “Sinners” reveals that while his involvement in “Creed” was due to his father Ira’s love for the “Rocky” movies, he’s doing “The X-Files” because of his mother Joselyn’s passion for the original show. Also, he’s making sure he won’t disappoint her and other fans.

“Like my relationship with ‘Rocky’ with my dad, ‘The X-Files’ is one of those things with my mom,” Coogler told Variety at the Cinespia “Sinners” screening at the Hollywood Forever Cemetery. “My mom means the world to me, she’s actually here tonight, so this is a big one for me. I want to do right by her and the fans. My mom has read some of the stuff I wrote for it. She’s fired up.” Confirming he’ll be writing on duties for the revivial, not just in a producing role.

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The Chris Carter-created sci-fi series that debuted in 1993 (a modern spin on shows like “The Outer Limits” and “The Twilight Zone” but with an episodic model rather than anthology) starring David Duchovny and Gillian Anderson was a huge landmark for Fox as the show became a phenomenon as the network tried to move away from being strictly known for comedies/cartoons and led to two spinoff feature films released by 20th Century Fox.

It wasn’t just a massive ratings boom for Fox as “The X-Files” helped grow the film/TV industry in Canada and its were many first took notice of the work of Vince Gilligan (“Breaking Bad,” “Better Call Saul”), who would go on to co-create and executive produce the series spinoff “The Lone Gunmen” that lasted a single season.

When asked directly about the casting rumors of Danielle Deadwyler being courted for a lead role Coogler responded with, “I can neither confirm or deny.” He also refused to reveal if Duchovny and Anderson would be returning, after there had been chatter he was speaking with the original actors about appearing in the new iteration.

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At the moment, we don’t know if the plans for the new show from Coogler will lead to new feature movies, but given the established branding that has global awareness and recent examples of 20th Century’s “Alien” franchise being able to juggle both films and the new streaming series “Alien: Earth“, we can’t rule anything out.

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Christopher Marc is lead writer at The Playlist and the primary engine behind our daily news coverage. Chris is based in Canada and tracks everything from Marvel and Star Wars developments to arthouse acquisitions and festival buzz with equal enthusiasm and an instinct for the story readers actually want to read.

Christopher Marc
Christopher Marc
Christopher Marc is lead writer at The Playlist and the primary engine behind our daily news coverage. Chris is based in Canada and tracks everything from Marvel and Star Wars developments to arthouse acquisitions and festival buzz with equal enthusiasm and an instinct for the story readers actually want to read.

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