Ryan Coogler director of Creed and Black Panther is in talks with, and has permission from, original show creator Chris Carter about doing an X-Files reboot. Plans are to update it and make it topical for a modern audience including a new diverse cast.
I am an X-Files fan, but I am not a big X-Files fan, that being said, I think that's a sorta iconic show that I can't imagine would do well being a reboot. What say you? Will there be a new X-Files reboot or will in be locked in developmental like the new Buffy reboot?
Oh God, is that really a thing? Didn't they already do a short-lived X-Files revival?
I wouldn't mind seeing a new X-Files, since I think like The Twilight Zone, it's a winning formula that can be brought back in a new incarnation with new stories...although in the case of the X-Files, it's probably not as good of an idea seeing as it spawned about a million clones.
When it first came out, the skeptic/believer dichotomy where the tension was just as much intellectual as it was sexual was a unique and compelling character dynamic, but it's been shamelessly copied so many times since then I think "X-Files clone" is practically its own genre at this point, and not in a good way.
Hell even Angel, aka David Boreanaz was on one such X-Files inspired show, Bones, for many, many years. (They even allude to this in the pilot, which incidentally was the only episode I saw. It was not promising hence I saw no more.)
All that said, suppose you did bring back the X-Files. I would be down with it as long as they
DO NOT RECAST MULDER AND SCULLY.
Which I have no doubt is exactly the plan, given studio executives' mindsets. But it would be a really terrible idea. Firstly, even on the X-Files during its original run, the Mulder/Scully dynamic had been getting old near the end. Season 6 and especially Season 7 were really not as good as previous seasons, and part of that was due to the characters really just having run their course. In Season 8 they introduced the character of John Dogget, played by Patrick Robert, aka the T-1000 from Terminator 2. This infusion of new blood really helped re-vitalize the show. The loss of a beloved main character (with Duchovny exiting as a main cast member) turned out to be one of the best things to happen to it. The character roles became reversed. Now Scully was the new Mulder, and Doggett was the new Scully.
They were even setting up Monica Reyes to be a replacement for Scully for when Gillian Anderson's contract would expire, but the ill-fated Season 9 proved to be the show's last. I would have been totally into new adventures with a sort of "X-Files: The Next Generation" with Doggett and Reyes.
But by the early 00s, especially once 9/11 happened, U.S. culture of skepticism towards government bureaucracy and fear of secret conspiracies seemed fairly trivial and of little significance when terrorists were toppling the Twin Towers in real life. The X-Files lost its relevancy and its ability to terrify audiences, plus the writing had major issues. The scripts were some of the worst that last season.
Over a decade on, they decide to bring back the X-Files for a limited series run, which was pretty much just X-Files: The High School Reunion. They didn't really impress me or even make average but decent tv. It was pretty much just nostalgia of seeing all the familiar faces return, although the "My Struggle" episodes were alright. I did like the attempt to modernize it a bit with the Alex Jones-inspired character, that was perfect to incorporate real life conspiracy theorists into this world. But ultimately, like I said, it was just a short-lived reunion, and that's fine.
I don't think we need more nostalgia, and these characters and their dynamic were done to death. The X-Files itself even feels like a very modern show, since it was actually one of the first if not the first to start the trend of longer serial arcs in tv shows, where some episodes were "monster of the week" and others dealt with the larger, on-going plot lines. They did a great job with the Blu-Rays too.
Long story short, we don't need to re-do the old X-Files.
But if a competent team with Chris Carter's blessings creates new characters who are just as compelling as the old, then sure bring back the X-Files. Make the X-Files: The Next Generation we might have gotten back then had the show not been cancelled. But please, for the love of god, do not recast Mulder and Scully and then just do the same horse that's been beaten to death already.
