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'The X-Files' Creator Says Ryan Coogler Is Developing Diverse Reboot

5,845 Views | 88 Replies | Last: 2 yr ago by YouBet
ABATTBQ11
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TCTTS said:

ABATTBQ11 said:

TCTTS said:

ABATTBQ11 said:

jeffk said:

The Porkchop Express said:

Still waiting for the reboot of Family Matters or A Different World that's just all white people.


Can I interest you in a Step by Step or a Home Improvement or a Full House or…


You missed the point...

It's not about having a white cast, it's that this whole idea is nothing more than rainbow-washing a classic because the creators are too lazy to come up with new, original content for a diverse cast. It's like saying, "This show was really great, but it was too white. We're going to redo it with a bunch of diversity to make it more acceptable and fix it." That's bull****. If the show was great, then just ****ing leave it alone. Don't try to "reimagine" it and put a woke seal of approval on it. Make your own modern show with your own modern ideas for your modern cast and let them stand on their own instead of trying to ride someone else's coattails.

For the 400th time, hardly anyone is taking chances on original material nowadays. Which certainly sucks, but it's the world we live in. The fact of the matter is that, because it's a known entity, with brand recognition, a re-imagined X-Files gets the green light, while an new, original show about basically the same topic, with the same cast, almost assuredly does not. There is no "make your own modern show with your own modern ideas for your modern cast and let them stand on their own instead" option. Every project Hollywood makes is a literal gamble. And every Hollywood exec is trying desperately to keep their job. Factoring in those two things, nearly anyone in their shoes would make the safer bet on something familiar, with a built in audience, as opposed to doing something new and original that has a higher probability of failing. Again, I'm not endorsing not taking chances, but that's the simple and current reality of the business.

Either way, it's never not hilarious how mad stuff like this consistently makes some of you. Again, the old X-Files isn't going anywhere. You'll still be able to watch it, and pretend the new one doesn't exist. No will be forcing you to watch the "woke" version. So why on earth do you care so much? Why does stuff like this get you guys so bent out of shape? Why is it such a horrible thing that the world of the X-Files will now reach a more diverse audience? Why is it such a tragedy that this story is being repurposed for people other than you? You got eleven seasons and two movies out of the original version. Unfortunately, as good as it was at times, it's also one that is now incredibly dated and much more slowly paced that modern audiences expect. So why can't a new generation, and new demographics, get their version of roughly the same world, told with more modern sensibilities?


So we would just be happy with regurgitated crap?

Despite the sad state of regurgitated franchise fare, we're still living in an age of more consistently great television than we ever possibly could have dreamed of. To the point where I can't even keep up with it all. How can you possibly feel so slighted in an environment like this? And again, why is it so offensive that this new iteration might be geared toward someone other than yourself?


So you're saying we're in a golden age of television, but you're also saying the name of the game is retreads because original content is too risky? The golden age of television is just dressed up reruns of other ages of television?

It's offensive because color washing is color washing no matter which way you're doing it. It's one thing to make a character change for an actor who's a perfect fit in all but appearance, but it's something else to make a character change just because you don't want an x, y, z character.
TCTTS
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I'm saying there are plenty of great series that fall under the umbrella of "unoriginal"/based on pre-existing IP... Better Call Saul, High Fidelity, House of the Dragon, The Queen's Gambit, The Last of Us, Perry Mason, Slow Horses, Station Eleven, Ted Lasso, Tokyo Vice, Westworld, Winning Time, certain Marvel shows, certain Star Wars shows, etc. A number of which were also made more "diverse" in their new iterations, but still retained if not surpassed the quality of the originals (High Fidelity, Perry Mason, and Westworld come to mind).

I'm also saying there are plenty of great original series at well... The Bear, Dave, Euphoria, Hacks, Mare of Easttown, The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, Ozark, Reservation Dogs, True Detective, Severance, Succession, The White Lotus, etc.

Either way, A) we've never seen a plethora of quality options like we have today, and B) anytime a studio can milk something out of an existing property, they will.

As for calling the potential existence of a more diverse X-Files "offensive," I have no idea how to react to that kind of hyperbole. First of all, it's a TV show. Get a grip. Secondly, for the umpteenth time, no one is erasing the original version. Those characters and their stories will forever exist. They're not being "color washed." Third, I don't know how many more times I have to say this either, but the purpose of a reboot like this is to reach a broader, more diverse audience. Not to bash or eliminate white people or whatever other nonsense you want to ascribe to their actions. Again I ask, why is it a bad thing that a more diverse audience will be exposed to this world? Why is it so offensive to you that more people will be able to connect with new versions of characters in this world and new versions of these stories? How can that possibly affect you in any tangible way?
Rocagnante
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tysker said:

I'm curious how they will handle the relationship of the X-files within the context of the modern FBI. The original department was a joke within the FBI and place for weirdos and eccentrics. (kind of like the viewers?) Often the bureaucracy and internal politics Mulder and Scully were just as interesting as chasing aliens and working with cryptozoologists.

The concepts and boundaries of 'Trust' and 'Belief' were so important in the original I'm not sure they can capture the same affection+suspicion of institutions like the FBI that we had back in the early 90s without becoming overtly political or without some sort of tribalism setting in.


I think it would remain the same today. Perhaps a bit more legitimized. That AATIP program had to remain hush for years and their results were ignored within the Pentagon until the leaked videos. But I agree a lot of the chemistry was the tension within the FBI which is what made Scullys character arc entertaining going from skeptic to believer over the course of the series. Continuation of that arc would be going from believer to crusader, thinking she has to save us from the threat by any means necessary. Not a far leap from that to facist if she believed that was the only way to protect us since the general public cares more about whoever Pete Davidson is dating than UAPs.

Buffalo still has not win a Super Bowl so obviously the Syndicate is still around in some form….
The Debt
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TCTTS said:

The Debt said:

bluefire579 said:

ABATTBQ11 said:

jeffk said:

The Porkchop Express said:

Still waiting for the reboot of Family Matters or A Different World that's just all white people.


Can I interest you in a Step by Step or a Home Improvement or a Full House or…


You missed the point...

It's not about having a white cast, it's that this whole idea is nothing more than rainbow-washing a classic because the creators are too lazy to come up with new, original content for a diverse cast. It's like saying, "This show was really great, but it was too white. We're going to redo it with a bunch of diversity to make it more acceptable and fix it." That's bull****. If the show was great, then just ****ing leave it alone. Don't try to "reimagine" it and put a woke seal of approval on it. Make your own modern show with your own modern ideas for your modern cast and let them stand on their own instead of trying to ride someone else's coattails.
You say that like we don't see this exact same bull**** spouted by any original show or movie that has any kind of diversity. Hell, someone felt the need to bump the Last of Us thread a few weeks after the show ended just to complain about it having gay people in it.

Having an episode dedicated to a love story of two dudes who aren't in the game canon seems like an odd injection into a narrative with tons of material.

What's interesting is that with the current state of Hollywood you seldom see this type of injection be a hetero couple. Whether it's the Last of Us or TWD, it seems like producers are itching to add "unique" relationships into the story. I find that funny because in a cataclysmic narrative, the importance of procreation typically trumps everything. BSG addressed this in an episode with a teen pregnancy "look their's only 90 thousand of us left, we need to start making more babies. Period."

This might very well be the single dumbest sentence I've ever read on this site.

Lafou was certainly given a cute maiden at the end of the remake of Beauty and the Beast right?

Lando Calrizzian wasn't made into a omnisexual weirdo, right?

Shall I go on?
TCTTS
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The whole AATIP aspect is a great point. Since the '90s/'00s, so much has changed in real life, in regards to how the government treats UFOs. There's a whole new dynamic at play that could be so fun an interesting to explore in a fictional show.
Rocagnante
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I think the issue is many people take this view of the word "reboot" (Wikipedia). That's how I first viewed it.

"A reboot discards continuity to re-create its characters, plotlines and backstory from the beginning. It has been described as a way to "rebrand" or "restart an entertainment universe that has already been established"."


tysker
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Quote:


Buffalo still has not win a Super Bowl so obviously the Syndicate is still around in some form….
91_Aggie
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Proposition Joe said:

We had Millienium
We had The Lone Gunmen
We had the "modern" season.

I'm all for "that type of show", but no need for it to be X-Files related. Fringe was the heir apparent and was excellent - but it was excellent for much of the same reason X-Files was -- the main characters and the writers... Not because people are just yearning to go back into that "universe".


Was Fringe excellent??
I remember a series that essentially rebooted itself every season...this was clearly a case of writers making **** up as they went with no overarching goal/story
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AgBQ-00
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If they can do it without being beholden to "the message" or beat the viewer over the head with woke ideology, I'd be up for it. My hope is they go for making a really good series that happens to be acted by diverse characters and not make "diversity" the focal point
Bruce Almighty
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91_Aggie said:

Proposition Joe said:

We had Millienium
We had The Lone Gunmen
We had the "modern" season.

I'm all for "that type of show", but no need for it to be X-Files related. Fringe was the heir apparent and was excellent - but it was excellent for much of the same reason X-Files was -- the main characters and the writers... Not because people are just yearning to go back into that "universe".


Was Fringe excellent??
I remember a series that essentially rebooted itself every season...this was clearly a case of writers making **** up as they went with no overarching goal/story



The first two seasons were excellent. The season 2 finale was one of the greatest season finales of all time. The show declined after that and was borderline unwatchable by the end.
TCTTS
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AgBQ-00 said:

If they can do it without being beholden to "the message" or beat the viewer over the head with woke ideology, I'd be up for it. My hope is they go for making a really good series that happens to be acted by diverse characters and not make "diversity" the focal point

For as "woke" and as in-your-face as the Black Panther and Creed movies could be, they're pretty tame, relatively speaking. They're definitely more a celebration of black culture than relying on any kind of aggrieved, down-with-the-white-man messaging. So I seriously doubt this version ventures into the latter. It's not going to be The X-Files: Angry & Black.

My guess would be that it simply features, say, a black lead and a Latino lead, along with any of number of white, Asian, gay, etc colleagues and cases, and that'll be about it. Granted, there will obviously be a black perspective at times, by way of one of the leads, but I think that could be really interesting to explore, considering we don't typical see a lot of black, paranormal-obsessed characters on screen, if they chose to go that route.

Also, while I don't think that diversity will be the focal point, it could be interesting to see how a paranormal event is interpreted by, say, a Native American, whose culture/heritage is typically spirit-focused. Or, I even heard on a podcast the other day how gay people are sometimes more in tune with and open to things like a belief in aliens or ghosts or whatever, seeing as how being ostracized at times can lend to an out-of-the-box worldview. So, every so often, I'm sure the series will explore events through those kinds of lenses. I know that may sound nauseating to some, I just think there's a lot of untapped potential in exploring the paranormal in this way, through a more diverse lens at times, via cultures and points-of-view through which the subject isn't typically examined.
AlaskanAg99
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Proposition Joe said:

Definitely Not A Cop said:

Never seen a black alien before. Should be pretty cool.

Well you're really showing your ass on the X-Files thread...

X-Files: The Unnatural


That wasn't a black alien. That was a Grey skin in a black human suit. Subject to all the racism of the time, but not the same as a black alien.

X-Files nerd here.

The best part of X-Files was no one could swipe open their pocket internet machine and figure **** out on the spot. Which is what made the 90's and early 00's great. Tech hadn't ruined it yet.
aTm '99
Rocagnante
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TCTTS said:

Or, I even heard on a podcast the other day how gay people are sometimes more in tune with and open to things like a belief in aliens or ghosts or whatever, seeing as how being ostracized at times can lend to an out-of-the-box worldview.


Gay, black Mulder realizes he can use his "gay-dar " to also identify shape shifting aliens living amongst us.
YouBet
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Rocagnante said:

TCTTS said:

When, reimagined for modern times, it could be interesting, and a cool way to introduce the subject to an audience who has almost assuredly never seen the original, and probably never will due to how dated it is.



In my opinion they're missing a good opportunity to both get the sci-fi base excited and bring a new audience into the fold. Just continue the story with a new cast. New monsters of the week, next generation of the Syndicate, new alien threat, etc. All modernized. No need to reimagine anything. Expand the universe, don't just retell the same story framework. We don't need a new Mulder and Scully. We need the next Mulder and Scully.

Go the Star Trek route. Picard wasn't the new Kirk. He was the next one and different in many ways that made TNG as loved as the original.


This would be awesome but if they are doing an actual reboot I'm just not going to support it. I really don't want to see all the gay stuff, white supremacy stuff, and whatever else leftist grievance that will be intertwined and played out in an IP that is one of my favorite shows ever.

I would love to be wrong though so I'll await reviews from rest of you that end up watching it.
Iraq2xVeteran
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I watched The X-Files from 1998 to 2002 and the reboots in 2016 and 2018. I am down for watching the new version of The X-Files.
TCTTS
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YouBet said:

Rocagnante said:

TCTTS said:

When, reimagined for modern times, it could be interesting, and a cool way to introduce the subject to an audience who has almost assuredly never seen the original, and probably never will due to how dated it is.



In my opinion they're missing a good opportunity to both get the sci-fi base excited and bring a new audience into the fold. Just continue the story with a new cast. New monsters of the week, next generation of the Syndicate, new alien threat, etc. All modernized. No need to reimagine anything. Expand the universe, don't just retell the same story framework. We don't need a new Mulder and Scully. We need the next Mulder and Scully.

Go the Star Trek route. Picard wasn't the new Kirk. He was the next one and different in many ways that made TNG as loved as the original.


This would be awesome but if they are doing an actual reboot I'm just not going to support it. I really don't want to see all the gay stuff, white supremacy stuff, and whatever else leftist grievance that will be intertwined and played out in an IP that is one of my favorite shows ever.

I would love to be wrong though so I'll await reviews from rest of you that end up watching it.

Again, nothing Coogler has done would suggest this is the route he's taking.

But let's go ahead and do the thing TexAgs always does and get worked up over something, long before it ever comes out, only for the eventual product to be either way less tame, or the complete opposite of what was expected, not acknowledge the overreaction in any way, only to move onto the next "woke" thing to be prematurely upset about.
YouBet
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TCTTS said:

YouBet said:

Rocagnante said:

TCTTS said:

When, reimagined for modern times, it could be interesting, and a cool way to introduce the subject to an audience who has almost assuredly never seen the original, and probably never will due to how dated it is.



In my opinion they're missing a good opportunity to both get the sci-fi base excited and bring a new audience into the fold. Just continue the story with a new cast. New monsters of the week, next generation of the Syndicate, new alien threat, etc. All modernized. No need to reimagine anything. Expand the universe, don't just retell the same story framework. We don't need a new Mulder and Scully. We need the next Mulder and Scully.

Go the Star Trek route. Picard wasn't the new Kirk. He was the next one and different in many ways that made TNG as loved as the original.


This would be awesome but if they are doing an actual reboot I'm just not going to support it. I really don't want to see all the gay stuff, white supremacy stuff, and whatever else leftist grievance that will be intertwined and played out in an IP that is one of my favorite shows ever.

I would love to be wrong though so I'll await reviews from rest of you that end up watching it.

Again, nothing Coogler has done would suggest this is the route he's taking.

But let's go ahead and do the thing TexAgs always does and get worked up over something, long before it ever comes out, only for the eventual product to be either way less tame, or the complete opposite of what was expected, not acknowledge the overreaction in any way, only to move onto the next "woke" thing to be prematurely upset about.
I will acknowledge it if I'm wrong. I really don't see how you can blame me or others for assuming the worst though.

Have enjoyed some of his other stuff. Creed was really good.
tomtomdrumdrum
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So you really liked the other franchise revival he did, but are going to assume the worst about this one?
YouBet
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tomtomdrumdrum said:

So you really liked the other franchise revival he did, but are going to assume the worst about this one?
I'm F16, bruh. What I do.
 
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