Danielle Deadwyler Joins The X-Files Reboot Opposite Himesh Patel
danielle deadwyler is joining Ryan Coogler’s upcoming The X-Files reboot, and she says it took little more than a quick introduction to get her there. Deadwyler will star opposite Himesh Patel in a reboot that was announced in February and will hand the franchise to two new FBI agents.
Coogler’s short pitch
“He said, ‘Hi, I’m Ryan Coogler.’ And I said, ‘Bet,’” Deadwyler said on Obsessed: The Podcast about the moment he approached her. She added, “I think that we just had rich conversations about–I’m not telling y’all. It’s X. I have nothing to give,” making clear the project moved fast without her giving away the mechanics behind it.
Deadwyler also said, “I believe in the spirit of surprise. I believe that it’s good to be patient and to wait for things. And I believe in privacy.” That stance fits a reboot built around secrecy at the casting level, even as the studio has already put names on the board for the two leads.
Anderson’s March message
In March, Gillian Anderson urged viewers to “Have an open mind and give it a chance because it is gonna be f---ing cool. It really is,” while also calling Coogler “such a cool guy, so talented,” and saying “the pilot script is really good.” Deadwyler called Anderson’s remarks “kind” and “beautiful,” a useful show of support as the new version takes over roles tied to Anderson and David Duchovny.
Deadwyler said she had not seen fan criticism of the reboot, adding, “I don’t know, I haven’t seen it. I ain’t on the end of it, so y’all haven’t hurt my feelings.” Her answer leaves the project in a practical place: the cast is set, but the audience still has to decide whether it will follow a franchise that already has 15 Emmys from an 11-season run, plus a two-season revival in 2016.
New FBI agents
Deadwyler and Patel will not play Dana Scully and Fox Mulder. They are set as two new FBI agents tasked with explaining the unexplainable, which gives Coogler room to rebuild the series without relying on a straight replica of the old pairing.
That matters because Deadwyler arrives with awards momentum of her own: she received several major nominations for her 2022 role in Till, and she currently stars opposite Steve Carell on HBO’s Rooster, which has already been renewed for a second season. Coogler is not recruiting a blank slate; he is building the reboot around an actor who already has enough range to carry prestige drama and franchise television at the same time.
For viewers, the immediate takeaway is simple: the reboot is moving forward with a cast that is not trying to imitate the original. If Coogler and Deadwyler keep the focus on the new agents rather than on nostalgia alone, the series has a better shot at standing on its own when it arrives.
