Gillian Anderson’s “Huge” Sci-Fi Return Teased Ahead Of Ryan Coogler’s X-Files Reboot

Gillian Anderson has teased a major return to the sci-fi genre while weighing in on the possibility of appearing in Ryan Coogler’s The X-Files reboot.

Best known for playing FBI Special Agent Dana Scully across 11 seasons of the 1993 sci-fi series The X-Files, Anderson has largely avoided making science fiction ever since. While Coogler’s reboot has renewed interest in the series, the actor revealed she is far more excited to return to science fiction through several original projects of her own, including one she describes as “huge” in scale.

In an interview with the Los Angeles Times, Anderson explained that although she is open to discussing Coogler’s reboot, she is more excited about developing original genre projects that allow her to return to science fiction on her own terms. Read her comments below:

It’s the first time that I’m properly going into the genre and embracing it and instigating that work. I’m very excited about those but no doubt when it comes time to do press around them, there’s going to be a lot of ‘X Files’ talk, inevitably.

Anderson’s comments come just months after she shared her reaction to the upcoming The X-Files reboot, which has since begun filming. Interest in the franchise has also continued to grow, with Hulu preparing to release an R-rated director’s cut of The X-Files: I Want to Believe later this month.

While she has never completely closed the door on reprising Dana Scully, her latest remarks make it clear that her immediate focus is elsewhere. Rather than revisiting one of television’s most iconic sci-fi roles, she is prioritizing original projects that she is actively helping bring to life.

The shift is especially notable given Anderson’s career after The X-Files. Following the series, she intentionally expanded beyond science fiction with acclaimed performances in The Fall, Netflix’s The Crown, and Sex Education. She also made her horror debut in Jane Schoenbrun’s Teenage Sex and Death at Camp Miasma, which will be released in theaters on August 7, 2026, continuing a career defined by taking on dramatically different roles.

During the same interview, Anderson reflected on how difficult it was to escape Dana Scully’s shadow after The X-Files ended, admitting that she once felt every career decision was made in an effort to distance herself from the character.

I felt like everything that I did was in an effort to get away from Scully. Then when people would bring it up or I would do a 45-minute interview and they would ask one question about ‘The X-Files,’ they would use my refusing to talk about it as an excuse to make it the headline.

While she once tried to distance herself from Scully, her latest comments show that relationship has evolved. Rather than avoiding science fiction altogether, she’s now embracing the genre through original projects that she is helping shape herself.

Whether that eventually leads to an appearance in the X-Files reboot remains to be seen, but Anderson’s next chapter in sci-fi appears set to begin on her own terms.

Birthdate

August 9, 1968

Birthplace

Chicago, Illinois, USA

Height

5 feet 3 inches