The X-Files was a pop culture behemoth throughout the '90s and into the early '00s, to the point that leads David Duchovny and Gillian Anderson reprised their iconic roles as Fox Mulder and Dana Scully not only for another feature film in 2008, but two revival seasons in 2016 and 2018. A reboot has been in the works for some time with Sinners' Ryan Coogler at the helm, and while it's not likely to be ready in the 2025 TV schedule, the world of Mulder and Scully may return to TV. Whether that also means Mulder and Scully themselves is harder to say, but Gillian Anderson has weighed in.
As a fan of The X-Files going back to when I was almost certainly too young to have been watching The X-Files, Dana Scully will always hold a special place in my heart. Perhaps that's why my feelings are so mixed after learning about her latest comments on the Ryan Coogler reboot. Appearing on This Morning to promote The Salt Path, Anderson responded to the reports that she'd spoken to Coogler about the project. She said:
I spoke to him and what I said was, 'If anyone were to do it, I think you're the perfect person and best of luck. Call me. At some point, if the phone rings and it's good and it feels like the right time, perhaps.' That's what I said. He's amazing.
Gillian Anderson was polite but firmly noncommittal in her response to The X-Files question, although she did compliment Coogler. On the whole, her comments hit a lot differently than when Chris Carter weighed in with his own two cents. The original creator said that he was "looking forward to seeing what somebody else does with it," which I was fully on board with after how Season 11 ended, especially for Scully.
And that Season 11 ending for Scully is what makes me reluctant to want to see Gillian Anderson reprising the role as long as those final revival plot twists remain canon. (Suffice it to say that none of my picks for the Top 20 episodes of The X-Files came from Season 1 1.) I couldn't be upset when Anderson didn't want to come back for Season 12, and I'm totally fine with a Ryan Coogler reboot that features new characters rather than retreads Mulder and Scully ground. (Doggett is fair game, though, with Robert Patrick's enthusiasm!)
Does that mean I'd dramatically boycott if Gillian Anderson ever did reprise her role as Scully, especially if opposite David Duchovny as Mulder? Of course not, but I'd also be just fine ignoring how Season 11 handled her character, and her career is flourishing in other directions.
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