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We know the truth is out there, Mulder, but where do we find it? Specifically, where do we go looking if we want to, say, reboot The X-Files? God knows I couldn't tell you - I don't have the clearance - but there may be one cinematic paranormal investigator who's on to something. That would Ryan Coogler, the man in charge of rekindling the 1990s scifi series and director of record-breaking Oscar-nominee Sinners. So where is Coogler looking? Naturally, he's got a list of names, and at the top of them is one of the most celebrated creators to work on the X-Files: Breaking Bad, Better Caul Saul, and Pluribus creator Vince Gilligan. 

Coogler recounted reaching out to Gilligan in a recent, in-depth interview with The Hollywood Reporter. Fascinatingly, Coogler first met X-Files writer and director Gilligan in 2013, when the Black Panther icon brought his movie Fruitvale Station to the Deauville American Film Festival in France. Then, when Coogler got the job of rebooting The X-Files for a new generation (presumably from an unnamed, shadowy source smoking in the corner of an FBI office), he reconnected with the creator to get some advice.

"Vince gave me a couple hours of advice over Zoom and answered all the questions I had," said Coogler, "I’ve got them all in my notebook, and I go back to it often."

If nothing else, Coogler's revelation should confirm to Truth Seekers everywhere that the new series isn't just in the hands of a demonstrably capable director, but that it'll carry with it the essence of what made the show great in the first place. In case you don't know, Gilligan was behind some of the series' standout episodes, including the Freaky Friday-esque two-parter Dreamland, the Bryan Cranston-starring Drive, and the uniquely filmed, absolutely bonkers episode X-Cops - which was, you guessed it, a fake crossover with reality series  COPS.

All this to say - the X-Files proved that there are only a few people you can really trust in this world. But time and again, Ryan Coogler has been one of them.

Don't just want to believe - Popverse has a comprehensive X-Files watch order right here.