Sinners director Ryan Coogler reveals his mom has read his X-Files script and gave the perfect response: "She's fired up"

David Duchovny and Gillian Anderson in The X-Files
(Image credit: Fox)

Sinners and Black Panther director Ryan Coogler is still plugging away at his mystery X-Files project, but now we have the very first response from someone who has read the scripts – his own mother.

As revealed by Variety during a Sinners screening at the Hollywood Forever Cemetery, Coogler signed on to the X-Files reboot because his mother was a mega-fan of the original series, which ran from 1993-2002 and then returned for a sequel series from 2016-2018.

With the personal connection in mind, Coogler laid down his mission statement for his X-Files series: "I want to do right by her and the fans. My mom has read some of the stuff I wrote for it. She’s fired up.”

Coogler's X-Files has been in the works since 2023, with the director finally turning his attention to the long-gestating project after the release of horror hit Sinners.

"I've been excited about that for a long time, and I'm fired up to get back to it," Coogler told The Last Podcast on the Left. "Some of those episodes, if we do our jobs right, will be really fucking scary."

If anyone was (somehow) on the fence with Coogler's involvement in the project, it might assuage fears to know original creator Chris Carter has given his blessing to the show. Gillian Anderson, who played FBI agent Dana Scully alongside David Duchovny's Fox Mulder, also described Coogler as the "perfect person" for the gig. It is not yet known if either Mulder or Scully will return for the new show.

Need to know what else is on the horizon? The truth is out there - in our guide to new TV shows.

Bradley Russell

I'm the Senior Entertainment Writer here at GamesRadar+, focusing on news, features, and interviews with some of the biggest names in film and TV. On-site, you'll find me marveling at Marvel and providing analysis and room temperature takes on the newest films, Star Wars and, of course, anime. Outside of GR, I love getting lost in a good 100-hour JRPG, Warzone, and kicking back on the (virtual) field with Football Manager. My work has also been featured in OPM, FourFourTwo, and Game Revolution.

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