Ryan Coogler, the director behind Black Panther and the Oscar-winning hit Sinners, is creating a new version of The X-Files for Disney+. He’s working on the project through Proximity Media, the production company he founded with his wife Zinzi Coogler in 2018.
Coogler was literally pulling all-nighters to finish the script, showing up to interviews sleepy but determined. That’s just how his company works – with the kind of commitment you’d expect from a team that’s basically family.
From Marvel to Mulder
Proximity Media has quietly become one of Hollywood’s most successful production companies. Since launching after Coogler’s massive success with Black Panther, they’ve produced Oscar winners like Judas and the Black Messiah and Sinners, which just became the most Oscar-nominated film in cinema history.
The company now employs about 20 people working across movies, TV shows, documentaries, and music. They’re known for culturally specific stories that still work as crowd-pleasing entertainment – like Sinners, which manages to be both a meditation on Southern Black culture and a vampire thriller.
What’s Next
The X-Files reboot will test whether Coogler can bring his storytelling magic to established franchises. Given his track record of turning everything he touches into gold – from the Rocky sequel Creed to the Marvel universe – Disney+ probably made a smart bet.
