Mulder's Iconic X-Files Line Sets A High Standard For Hulu's Reboot

Published Jul 12, 2026, 5:00 PM EDT

The upcoming Ryan Coogler X-Files reboot is both exciting and concerning for fans of the original series. The reboot repeats the premise, with two drastically different FBI agents investigating paranormal phenomena together. It would likely be a mistake to recast Mulder and Scully after so long and such a genre-defining partnership, so the agents in question will be two new characters, played by Danielle Deadwyler (Carry-On) and Himesh Patel (Enola Holmes.) This allows the new leads to create a fresh take on the original story rather than attempting to rewrite it.

The series was often hilarious, with Mulder and Scully's believer and skeptic dynamic turning The X-Files into a cult classic through some unexpectedly funny episode premises, like the self-aware sci-fi satire, "Jose Chung's From Outer Space." The two didn't just balance out each other's failings, but challenged and made fun of each other in turn, trading one-liners that are still quotable today, while sharing some intense moments of connection. While this was the original show's greatest strength, it sets up the biggest hurdle that could face the reboot.

A Mulder Line From The 1998 X-Files Movie Illustrates The Biggest Hurdle Facing Hulu's Reboot

Mulder and Scully's relationship evolved over The X-Files' 11 seasons. Beginning from a combination of mistrust and cold professionalism in the first few episodes, with Scully assigned to rein Mulder in, this initial dynamic could easily have grown stale. Instead, the show developed the partnership into an intense connection as the two learned to trust each other, even when all the evidence was against them. The will-they, won't-they aspect kept viewers guessing, and by the time Mulder poured his heart out in the 1998 X-Files movie, it all but confirmed what viewers already knew about his feelings for Scully.

With Scully considering resigning, Mulder's resulting speech illustrated how far their relationship had come. "As difficult and as frustrating as it's been sometimes, your goddamned strict rationalism and science have saved me a thousand times over. You kept me honest. You made me a whole person. I owe you everything. Scully, and you owe me nothing. I don't know if I wanna do this alone. I don't even know if I can. And if I quit now, they win."

Despite not being as good as the series, the movie featured some of the best Mulder and Scully moments in The X-Files franchise, and this line would be hard to equal, no matter how successful the reboot is. The reboot's central relationship must be as well-written as the one between Mulder and Scully, and while it is unlikely that this will be achieved within one season, the potential for it to develop must be clear if the reboot is to work.

The X-Files Should Have Ended Soon After The 1998 Movie

After 1996's season 4 featured some of the best X-Files episodes, earning the show a perfect 100% positive critics' score on Rotten Tomatoes, with a 97% audience rating, the show saw some dramatic drops in quality. In just three short years, 2001's season 9 saw one of the worst falls from grace in any TV show, with just a 22% positive critics' rating. The movie was an underrated boost that serves as a bridge between seasons 5 and 6, and rather than continue an increasingly tangled mythology, the series writers should have used it as a penultimate season.

The X-Files movie was not a resounding success, but it was underrated, and the final scenes dramatically increase the danger to Mulder, and Scully too, by association. This could have perfectly set up a compelling final season that drew the story threads together while preventing the issues that began to plague the series. Finishing on a strong note can make a TV show into a masterpiece, and if the reboot is to equal the original series, the creators must learn from The X-Files' best and worst features, beginning with the central partnership and ending with pacing.