The X-Files: Gillian Anderson Addresses Scully Return for Ryan Coogler’s Reboot

Ever since The X-Files seemingly concluded with Season 11 back in 2018, star Gillian Anderson has explained why she had no interest in reprising her role as Dana Scully in any revival of the project, but now that director Ryan Coogler is in the process of developing a new take on the material, Anderson admits that she would be open to getting involved in some capacity. The major impetus for her to return would be to work with Coogler, and while she didn’t offer an enthusiastic reaction to the possibility of joining a new X-Files, she at least seems to be humoring the idea.

“It’s so funny because, for most of my life, since I finished The X-Files, every interview I do, people have asked, and the answer has always been, ‘Nope. Not gonna happen,’” Anderson admitted to the TODAY show. “Now, Ryan Coogler, who’s the director of Black Panther, a brilliant, brilliant director, has approached Chris Carter to say that he wants to do a take on it. I cannot think of a better way around for a reboot to happen, I think he’s a bit of a genius.”

When pressed on whether this means she’s open to returning, Anderson confessed, “There’s a chance it will happen. Whether I am involved in it is a whole other thing, but in his hands … But I am not saying no, because I think he’s really cool, and I think if he did it, it will be done incredibly well, and maybe I’ll pop in for a little somethin’ somethin’.”

Interestingly, this lines up with one of the last times she talked about the series, as she shared in 2022 that, were she to come back to the series, it would likely only be under new creative leadership. 

“It just feels like such an old idea. I’ve done it, I did it for so many years, and it also ended on such an unfortunate note,” Anderson shared with Variety previously. “In order to even begin to have that conversation [about another season] there would need to be a whole new set of writers and the baton would need to be handed on for it to feel like it was new and progressive. So yeah, it’s very much in the past.”  

While the upcoming project is being billed as a reboot, no details about the direction Coogler will take the material have been revealed. If Anderson is willing to make a brief appearance in the project, it’s possible the new series could be set in the world of the original series and explore the exploits of all-new agents.

Stay tuned for updates on the future of The X-Files.

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