The pilot for Ryan Coogler’s reboot of The X-Files officially wrapped earlier this year, and I’m excited to see what this new take will bring, especially as it could be even more visually stunning than expected. According to reports circulating on social media, The X-Files pilot was shot on 65mm film by Autumn Durald Arkapaw, who won the Academy Award for Sinners. And now, as if there was every any doubt, Hulu has picked up the pilot for a series – with Deadline breaking the news. While it sounds like a no-brainer, let’s not forget the Buffy The Vampire Slayer reboot that never made it past the pilot stage at the same streamer.
“I’ve loved The X-Files for a long time, so getting the chance to write and direct the pilot has meant a great deal to me,” Coogler said. “What Chris Carter created is special, and we wanted to honor everything that made the original series connect with so many people while also finding our own way into that world. Danielle and Himesh, along with the rest of our cast, have brought such original perspectives and performances to these characters, and watching that come together has been one of the most rewarding parts of the experience. I couldn’t have asked for better collaborators than my crew, colleagues at Proximity Media and our partners at Onyx Collective and 20th Television. I’m grateful for the trust and support they’ve given us as we take on this new chapter.“
It’s pretty rare for a TV series to be shot on 65mm film, and I wonder if The X-Files reboot will actually keep it up if it’s ordered to series. The third season of Euphoria was said to be the first narrative TV series to shoot on 65mm film, with HBO saying a “significant volume” of the season was shot on a new KODAK motion picture film stock. The rest was shot on 35mm.
Coogler wrote and directed the reboot pilot, which stars Danielle Deadwyler (The Piano Lesson) and Himesh Patel (Yesterday) as two highly decorated but vastly different FBI agents who form an unlikely bond when they are assigned to a long-shuttered division devoted to cases involving unexplained phenomena.
“I really can’t tell you much with regards to anything other than it’s just a pilot, for now,” Patel said. “We shot a pilot, we’ll see what happens, but I had a great time, and everyone was great to work with, and I’m keeping my fingers crossed.“
The pilot also boasts an impressive guest cast, including Amy Madigan (Weapons), Steve Buscemi (Reservoir Dogs), Ben Foster (Hell or High Water), Devery Jacobs (Reservation Dogs), Lochlyn Munro (Freddy vs. Jason), Tantoo Cardinal (Dances with Wolves), Joel D. Montgrand (Avatar: The Last Airbender), and Sofia Grace Clifton (Station 19).
It remains to be seen if David Duchovny or Gillian Anderson will be involved in the reboot, but that’s assuming it even takes place in the same world.
Coogler spoke with Anderson about the project pretty early on and teased a possible appearance. “She’s incredible, and fingers-crossed there. When I spoke to her, she was finishing [Tron: Ares] up. But, yeah, but we’re gonna try to make something really great… and really be something for the real X-Files fans, you know what I’m saying? And, maybe, find some new ones.” Anderson later added that the pilot script was “really good” and she had high hopes for the series.
As for Duchovny, he hadn’t read the script but had spoken with Coogler and had a general sense of what it was about. When asked if he would appear, Duchovny merely said, “There have been talks about certain things, but there’s nothing concrete at this point.”