Ryan Coogler’s X-Files Reboot Casts Danielle Deadwyler to Star

Hulu has greenlit a pilot for a relaunch of The X-Files that names danielle deadwyler as one of two co-leads and confirms Ryan Coogler will write and direct the pilot. The casting and creative moves were reported alongside details about showrunners, producers and the project’s recent development history.

Danielle Deadwyler to Co-Lead

Danielle Deadwyler has landed one of the two coveted starring roles in the new series; she will play one of the highly decorated FBI agents described in the show’s official logline: “Two highly decorated but vastly different FBI agents form an unlikely bond when they are assigned to a long-shuttered division devoted to cases involving unexplained phenomena. ” The other lead is to be confirmed. The casting follows a multi-year push to relaunch the franchise.

Pilot Greenlit; Coogler Directing

Ryan Coogler is confirmed to both write and direct the pilot, and the pilot has been officially greenlit. The pilot order is described as capping a three-year journey for the project and it falls under Coogler’s five-year exclusive television deal with Disney, the parent company of Hulu, 20th Television and Onyx Collective. The project’s recent momentum accelerated as Coogler made The X-Files a priority following his work on Sinners.

Showrunner and Production Team

Jennifer Yale, credited with The Copenhagen Test, will serve as showrunner and will executive produce alongside The X-Files creator Chris Carter and Coogler’s Proximity Media partners Sev Ohanian and Zinzi Coogler. Simone Harris is a co-executive producer. The X-Files pilot will be produced by Onyx Collective and 20th Television. The pilot is being cast by Francine Maisler.

Coogler’s Remarks and Podcast Timeline

Chris Carter first revealed in a 2023 podcast interview that he had spoken with Coogler, who was “going to remount The X Files with a diverse cast. ” Coogler confirmed his involvement during a podcast appearance last April, saying, “I’ve been excited about that for a long time, and I’m fired up to get back to it. Some of those episodes, if we do our jobs right, will be really f*cking scary. ” He added in that interview, “We’re gonna try to make something really great and really be something for the real X-Files fans, and maybe find some new ones. ” Coogler also disclosed he had spoken with Gillian Anderson about the reboot.

Deadwyler’s Credits and Upcoming Work

Danielle Deadwyler’s credits cited in project notices include The Woman in the Yard and Netflix’s adaptation of The Piano Lesson, for which she earned a Screen Actors Guild Award nomination for best supporting actress. Additional credits noted include Till, Carry-On and the series Station Eleven. Deadwyler is set to appear in HBO’s upcoming third season of Euphoria and to star in HBO’s upcoming comedy series Rooster.

Franchise History and Wider Context

The original series premiered in 1993 and ran for nine seasons; it later spawned two feature films — The X-Files and The X-Files: I Want to Believe — and was revived in 2016 for two additional seasons. The original series introduced Agent Dana Scully (Gillian Anderson) being assigned to the paranormal division to help debunk true believer Agent Fox Mulder’s (David Duchovny) work. At its height, the original was watched by 27 million people in the U. S. The reboot arrives amid renewed interest in aliens and UFOs, including congressional hearings devoted to UAP, headlines involving former presidents Barack Obama and Donald Trump weighing in on the topic, and an upcoming film titled Disclosure Day whose premise has been compared to The X-Files.

Industry Notes and Accolades

Coogler’s recent film Sinners has been a focal point of the creative timetable: it is an awards contender with a record 16 Oscar nominations and made history at the BAFTAs, becoming the most decorated movie by a Black director and winning three awards including Best Original Screenplay. Sinners stars Michael B. Jordan and has grossed over $365 million globally. Coogler is founder of Proximity Media alongside Zinzi Coogler and Ohanian. Representation details listed in notices include that Jennifer Yale is repped by CAA, Brillstein Entertainment Partners and Hansen Jacobson; Chris Carter is repped by CAA and Gang Tyre; Coogler is repped by WME and M88.

The creative team and casting are currently moving into pilot production after the greenlight. The reporting that first published on Feb 23, 2026 at 12: 00pm carried byline credits to James Hibberd and Borys Kit and outlined the full list of producers, casting staff and agency representation connected to the reboot.

Closing: The X-Files reboot will proceed with Ryan Coogler writing and directing the pilot, Jennifer Yale showrunning, Danielle Deadwyler confirmed as a co-lead, and a production team that includes Chris Carter, Sev Ohanian, Zinzi Coogler, Simone Harris, Francine Maisler, Onyx Collective and 20th Television.