Ryan Coogler Reveals When The X-Files Starts Filming - and the Location Will Look Familiar
Ryan Coogler's Hulu reboot of The X-Files has a pilot filming window, a working title, and a location that will mean something to anyone who grew up watching Mulder and Scully chasing the truth.
Production on the pilot is set to begin in May and run through June 2026 in Vancouver, British Columbia, the same city where the original series shot its first five seasons starting in 1993. The working title is Alphabet Soup. Coogler will write, direct, and produce the pilot, with Jennifer Yale serving as showrunner. Original series creator Chris Carter is on board as a non-writing executive producer.
Vancouver is a practical shooting location, but more importantly it's the city that gave The X-Files its original identity. The dense forests and rain-soaked streets of British Columbia provided the show's unmistakable atmosphere through five seasons (standing in for locations from Oregon to Siberia), before production relocated to Los Angeles in season six. That move coincided with a creative shift fans still debate. Returning to Vancouver is a nod to the show's roots.
The cast is equally attention-grabbing. Danielle Deadwyler (Till, The Piano Lesson) and Himesh Patel (Yesterday, Station Eleven) will play the two lead FBI agents, entirely new characters, not new versions of Scully and Mulder. The official premise is that two highly decorated but very different agents form an unlikely partnership when they're assigned to a long-shuttered division investigating unexplained phenomena. The format will preserve what fans loved about the original, standalone monster-of-the-week cases alongside an overarching mythology and conspiracy arc.
Gillian Anderson, who played Dana Scully for eleven seasons across the original run and two revival seasons, has read the pilot script and called it 'really good,' adding that fans should 'give it a chance because it's gonna be f***ing cool.' She confirmed she has had multiple conversations with Coogler, leaving open the possibility of some kind of appearance. David Duchovny, who played Fox Mulder, told The Hollywood Reporter he's spoken with Coogler but hasn't read the script and doesn't yet know whether his character even exists in this new version of the show's world.
Coogler has been open about why this project matters to him personally. The X-Files was his mother's favorite show, and he's described it as one of the most beautiful American television series ever made. He's also brought in serious creative muscle. Cinematographer Autumn Durald Arkapaw, who shot Sinners, will work on the pilot, and Coogler has credited conversations with Vince Gilligan, who wrote for the original series before creating Breaking Bad, as formative in shaping his approach.
The pilot still needs a full series order from Hulu before a premiere date is set. But with cameras heading to Vancouver next month, the truth is...in pre-production!
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This story was originally published April 26, 2026 at 10:10 AM.