Ryan Coogler reveals that after finishing his current responsibilities, he’ll tackle a revival of the X-Files.
While appearing on a recent episode of Last Podcast on the Left, Coogler shared that once he completes his Sinners promotional tour, he’ll dive into the X-Files project.
“I’m working on X-Files. That’s what’s immediately next,” Coogler stated. “So, I’ve been excited about that for a long time, and I’m fired up to get back to it, and that, you know, some of those episodes, if we do our jobs right, will be really fucking scary.”
News about Coogler’s involvement with the reboot first emerged in 2023 when X-Files creator Chris Carter hinted at it on the On The Coast podcast.
“I just spoke to a young man, Ryan Coogler, who is going to remount The X-Files with a diverse cast,” Carter mentioned. “So he’s got his work cut out for him, because we covered so much territory.”
While X-Files is next on Coogler’s agenda, he’s currently focused on his newly released film Sinners, which boasts an impressive 99 percent Certified Fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes. During a YouTube interview with GET REC’D with Straw Hat Goof, Coogler shared that Puss in Boots: The Last Wish was a major inspiration for Sinners.
“So I talk about influences in this movie […] That’s a massive one I love,” he explained about the Shrek spin-off. “Think about the villain Death, think about his defining features [the eyes], think about his demeanor.”
Coogler noted that this influence was amplified by Louis Gonzales, an artist on his team who spent nearly 20 years at Pixar and contributed to various films including The Iron Giant and both Black Panther movies.
While Sinners occupies Coogler’s present and X-Files his immediate future, Black Panther 3 lies somewhere down the road. Last November, Denzel Washington revealed that Coogler is creating a role for him in the next installment.
“I’ve played Othello at 22. I’m about to play Othello at 70,” Washington said on Australia’s Today Show. “After that, I’m playing Hannibal. After that, I’ve been talking with Steve McQueen about a film. After that, Ryan Coogler’s writing a part for me in the next Black Panther. After that, I’m gonna do the film Othello. After that, I’m gonna do King Lear. After that, I’m gonna retire.”
