Ryan Coogler’s ‘The X-Files’ Reboot Casts Danielle Deadwyler as Lead

Fox

Published Feb 23, 2026, 3:27 PM EST

Marcos Melendez is an entertainment journalist who has been active since 2017. His past work can be read on Collider, Escapist, ScreenRant, CBR, and Full Circle Cinema. He is currently a News Editor for MovieWeb.

It’s official: Ryan Coogler (Sinners) is rebooting The X-Files for Hulu, and he has found the perfect star to lead the way as a paranormal-investigating FBI agent. As the upcoming sci-fi thriller moves away from icons Special Agents Dana Scully (Gillian Anderson) and Fox Mulder (David Duchovny), a rising movie star is officially set to pave the way for a new era of the franchise.

Per Deadline, Hulu has officially greenlit a pilot for The X-Files written and directed by Coogler, with Jennifer Yale (The Copenhagen Test) hired as showrunner. The series is set to feature Danielle Deadwyler (The Woman in the Yard) as an FBI agent who, alongside a fellow officer, investigates strange occurrences. As described by the outlet, the two agents “form an unlikely bond when they are assigned to a long-shuttered division devoted to cases involving unexplained phenomena.” It’s unclear who will star alongside Deadwyler, but with Hulu now greenlighting a pilot, it sounds like fans will learn sooner rather than later.

Prior to her X-Files casting, Deadwyler has cemented herself as a movie star in the past few years. After appearing in the Netflix Western The Harder They Fall in 2021, she went on to the critically acclaimed biopic Till, which landed her Best Actress nominations at the BAFTA Awards and Critics Choice Awards. More recently, she appeared in the airport thriller Carry-On in a supporting role, before leading the post-apocalyptic action film 40 Acres and Jaume Collet-Serra’s psychological horror thriller The Woman in the Yard. Other notable credits include Station Eleven, I Saw the TV Glow, The Piano Lesson, and the upcoming Steve Carell HBO comedy, Rooster.