Ryan Coogler’s The X-Files Reboot: Every Confirmed Star — Plus the Horror Legend Joining the Case

Mulder and Scully are sitting this one out. Ryan Coogler is rebooting The X-Files without the franchise ’s two most famous faces, which is a huge swing considering the show already had two divisive revival seasons that left the brand in a weird limbo. The upside: Coogler’s track record is pristine enough to make this a real bet. He’s got Creed, Black Panther, and Sinners on the shelf — and he won an Oscar for Best Original Screenplay for Sinners — so if anyone can thread this needle, it ’s probably him.

What Coogler’s building

Coogler wrote and directed the pilot himself, and he’s bringing along key Sinners collaborators: cinematographer Autumn Durald Arkapaw and casting director Francine Maisler. Jennifer Yale (The Copenhagen Test) is the showrunner steering the series once the pilot’s in the can. Chris Carter is back as executive producer, teaming with Coogler’s Proximity Media. Production is already underway in Vancouver — a smart, very intentional nod to where the original show found its look in those early seasons.

One more thread worth flagging: trade casting breakdowns point to a pilot case that touches Indigenous communities, centering on a missing woman who’s connected to a young girl. It tracks with a lot of the names below and suggests Coogler’s starting with something grounded and culturally specific rather than launching straight into mythology fireworks.

The cast so far

1. Danielle Deadwyler — Deadwyler was the first actor announced for the reboot, landing her role a month before her co-lead. She’s coming off SAG and BAFTA nominations for Till, plus another SAG nomination for The Piano Lesson, and she recently headlined The Woman in the Yard and popped up in Netflix ’s action thriller Carry-On. She’s not playing a reworked Dana Scully; this is a new character written for the reboot. Deadwyler is also an executive producer on the pilot.

2. Himesh Patel — Patel is stepping into the void left by David Duchovny, but he’s not a Mulder remix. He’s playing one of two brand-new FBI agents assigned to the bureau’s long-mothballed unit for unexplained phenomena. You’ve seen him in Yesterday, Tenet, and the excellent Station Eleven, and he’s set to appear in Christopher Nolan ’s The Odyssey. Like Deadwyler, Patel is executive producing the pilot.

3. Amy Madigan — Fresh off an Oscar win for Best Supporting Actress for her chilling turn as Aunt Gladys in the horror film Weapons, Madigan joins the pilot in an undisclosed role. At 75, she became the second-oldest supporting actress winner ever, and her trophy capped a 40-year span since her first Oscar nomination for Twice in a Lifetime — an Academy record for the gap between nods. Putting one of the most acclaimed horror performers of the moment in an X-Files pilot is a fun way to mess with audience expectations.

4. Steve Buscemi — An all-timer character actor who’s done everything from Fargo and The Big Lebowski to five seasons ruling Boardwalk Empire as Nucky Thompson. He also snagged a Daytime Emmy for Park Bench with Steve Buscemi. Recently, he turned up in Wednesday season 2 and is currently shooting Martin McDonagh’s Wild Horses Nine for Searchlight with John Malkovich and Sam Rockwell. He’s aboard as a guest star here, which likely means a one-and-done appearance in the pilot.

5. Ben Foster — One of the most reliably intense actors working, with an Independent Spirit Award for Hell or High Water and an Emmy for Showtime’s Bang Bang You’re Dead on the mantle. Credits include 3:10 to Yuma, Lone Survivor, Leave No Trace, and Emancipation. Recently he co-starred with Sydney Sweeney in the boxing drama Christy as legend Christy Martin and led the IFC film Motor City, which premiered at Venice. No character details yet.

6. Devery Jacobs — A breakout from Reservation Dogs with two Critics’ Choice nominations and a Gotham nomination for playing Elora Danan, plus a recent turn in Marvel ’s Echo. Another key Indigenous performer in a mystery role, which lines up with those early plot whispers about the pilot’s case.

7. Tantoo Cardinal — A titan of Indigenous cinema and TV with more than 130 credits over five decades. Films include Dances with Wolves, Legends of the Fall, Wind River, and most recently Killers of the Flower Moon. On TV, she’s been a force in Stumptown (as Sue Lynn Blackbird), 3 Pines, Echo, and the final season of Netflix’s live-action Avatar: The Last Airbender. Her casting adds real weight to the reported Indigenous-centered storyline.

8. Joel D. Montgrand — The Rocky Cree actor made a big impression as Eddie Qavvik in True Detective: Night Country, and he’s also played Hakoda in Netflix’s live-action Avatar: The Last Airbender and Kania’tariio in the acclaimed film Beans, with stops in DC ’s Legends of Tomorrow and Altered Carbon. The part is under wraps, but reports of a Bureau of Indian Affairs officer in the pilot fit neatly with his recent run.

9. Lochlyn Munro — You know him from Scary Movie, Freddy vs. Jason, and White Chicks, plus a long arc as Hal Cooper — the Black Hood serial killer — on Riverdale. He also showed up in Peacemaker as officer Larry Fitzgibbon. He’s listed as a guest star here; role TBA.

10. Sofia Grace Clifton — A newer face who recently appeared in The Muppets Mayhem and Station 19. Given the chatter about a young girl at the center of the case, don’t be shocked if Clifton ends up tied to that thread.

Why this could work

Rebooting The X-Files without Mulder and Scully is a risk, full stop. But the creative spine here is strong: Coogler writing and directing the pilot, a top-tier DP in Autumn Durald Arkapaw, elite casting by Francine Maisler, a clear showrunning hand with Jennifer Yale, and Chris Carter watching over it. Filming where the original found its mood is a neat touch, and if the first case really leans into an Indigenous-focused mystery, that’s a smart, specific way to reintroduce this world. At minimum, the cast is stacked enough to make me curious about the monster-of-the-week possibilities right out of the gate.