Ryan Coogler offered a candid look at his creative recalibration as he prepares to reboot The X-Files, speaking on the December 4 episode of 3rd & Fairfax: The WGAW Podcast.
The filmmaker, who first revealed plans for the project in 2023 and is developing it with Danielle Deadwyler in talks to star, said the move from features to episodic storytelling has forced him to rethink how he builds character and narrative momentum.
The acclaimed director previously revealed that he is making X-Flies in part for his mother, who loved the original series. Coogler recalled a recent exchange that reframed his understanding of the work ahead.
“I was talking to a writer,” he said, noting that her philosophy on story structure reshaped his approach. “She said how she sees movies is you’re looking at the most important moment in a character’s life, and with TV you’re looking at the most important journey in a character’s life.”
The distinction, he said, “hit me pretty hard,” because it underscored how sharply the mediums differ.
The director acknowledged that he has long operated with a feature filmmaker’s instincts. “I’m a movie person,” Coogler admitted, reflecting on a career defined by singular, high-stakes turning points in films such as Fruitvale Station, Creed, and Black Panther.
Ryan Coogler Updates On X-FiLes Reboot
Each hinges on a defining event that shapes the protagonist’s arc with cinematic precision. Television, he said, demands a different sensibility. It stretches character development across time, layers emotion over multiple episodes, and asks audiences to engage with a slow-burn evolution rather than a contained climactic punch.
That shift has placed Coogler firmly in a learning mode. “I’m learning to be a television person right now,” he said, describing his process as both challenging and energizing.
His comments signal that the new X-Files will not function as a direct replica of the original series but as a reinterpretation guided by longform character exploration. The news arrives as Coogler’s latest film, Sinners, secured seven Golden Globe nominations.
The project remains one of the industry’s most closely watched reboots. Danielle Deadwyler’s potential casting suggests a fresh center to the narrative, while Coogler’s emphasis on “journey” hints at a more serialized, emotionally driven structure. His reflections point to a creator intent on understanding the form of television before reshaping one of its most enduring franchises.
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