Ryan Coogler's revival of The X-Files

They wrapped production on this pilot at the end of June, and it was revealed last week that it was shot on 65mm film and reportedly runs for two hours. While it is possible that this can be played as is for a series opener (The pilot of HBO's 'Vinyl' which Scorsese directed ran for 113 minutes), there've been rumblings about how Coogler intends to release it in theatres in the event Hulu doesn't get pick it up for series.

Earlier this year, Hulu did not order Chloé Zhao's Buffy reboot to series. Think Coogler may've been cognizant of that, which probably influenced his decision to go long. And given the nature of the show, it can work just as well as a standalone episode.

If it does go theatrical, it shortens the gap between Sinners and Black Panther 3. And the production costs of a 2 hour pilot is (I would assume) lesser than that of a film of the same length by Disney, so from a business end, it makes sense. And if need be, it'll probably allow them to position this as an IMAX release too.

Not to mention the Mouse is fairly big on the guy as he got the MCU their first Oscar nominations for Picture and Performance. According to the Vulture piece earlier this week about the most powerful directors, Coogler was listed as second only to Nolan. So he is a brand by himself. And with a cast of actors like Himesh Patel, Daniel Deadwyler, Steve Buscemi & Amy Madigan, there's an audience for them based on their recent work. So all the more reason to do it.

Sorry if this reads like a ramble.