Himesh Patel offered an update on the X-Files reboot, the new take on the sci-fi favorite, quietly moving forward at Hulu. Patel headlines the series opposite Danielle Deadwyler, with Black Panther and Sinners filmmaker Ryan Coogler writing and directing the pilot. The reboot keeps the bones of the original, trailing two FBI agents who chase the kind of cases the rest of the Bureau would rather bury.
During an exclusive conversation with The Direct while promoting Enola Holmes 3, the Netflix mystery sequel that brings Himesh Patel back as Dr. John Watson, Patel confirmed that the X-Files reboot pilot wrapped filming. He also shared an interesting detail on whether he and X-Files co-star Danielle Deadwyler will play completely new characters or fresh versions of Fox Mulder and Dana Scully.
When asked how the revival might differ from the show that started it all, Patel stayed guarded, joking that he would rather not say anything that gets him in trouble. Then he let one detail slip, confirming that he and Deadwyler had "just wrapped on the pilot:"
The Direct: "Can you tease kind of what differences fans can expect from this upcoming revival or reboot of The X-Files compared to the original show?"
Patel: I don't want to say anything that's going to get me disappeared. Needless to say, myself and Danielle Deadwyler are playing completely new characters, and we just wrapped on the pilot. If we get to do more... we'll see where we go from there."
Coogler shot the pilot under the working title Alphabet Soup, and a full series order from Hulu remains the next hurdle. This pending decision is why Patel referred to more episodes as a possibility rather than a promise.
The pilot centers on two highly decorated but different FBI agents who form an unlikely bond once they take over a long-shuttered division devoted to cases involving unexplained phenomena. Coogler wrote and directed it under his Proximity Media banner, with original X-Files creator Chris Carter on board as an executive producer and Jennifer Yale serving as showrunner.
Patel and Deadwyler are not new to each other. The pair co-starred in the HBO Max drama Station Eleven, the role that earned Patel an Emmy nomination, and they reunite here as the faces of one of television’s most recognizable brands.
The X-Files premiered on Fox in 1993 and ran for nine seasons through 2002, starring David Duchovny and Gillian Anderson as paranormal investigators Mulder and Scully. The show produced two feature films and later returned for two event seasons in 2016 and 2018. Its calling card, "The Truth Is Out There," turned the series into a cultural mainstay well before conspiracy chatter took over social media.
How Different Will the X-Files Reboot Be From the Original Show?
Many fans are anticipating the X-Files reboot and wonder how different it'll be from the original show. The clearest signal so far is who Patel and Deadwyler are not. Ryan Coogler skipped the obvious move of handing Mulder and Scully to a new pair of actors and instead created two agents who belong only to this version. This choice is an indication of a clean slate, giving the new team room to write its own mythology rather than living under the old one.
The heart of the original that made it iconic stays intact. The premise still pairs two contrasting investigators inside a forgotten FBI unit, and Coogler said he wants both standalone "monster of the week" cases and a slow-burning conspiracy arc, the same balance that the 1990s run utilized so well.
Tone may be where fans notice the most differences. Coogler took the pilot back to Vancouver, the rain-soaked city that gave the early seasons their unsettled mood, before the production moved to Los Angeles and traded away some of that moody atmosphere.
He also brought in Sinners cinematographer Autumn Durald Arkapaw and received advice from Vince Gilligan, who wrote for the original series before he made Breaking Bad. These elements are set to make the show an ambitious take on the original material, filtered through present-day worries. Even though the reboot will make changes, the signs so far indicate the heartbeat of the original will remain.
Geraldo Amartey is a writer at The Direct. He joined the team in 2025, bringing with him four years of experience covering entertainment news, pop culture, and fan-favorite franchises for sites like YEN, Briefly and Tuko.
