SPOILER WARNING: The following contains many crucial plot details from recent horror movies X and Pearl. If you have not seen either, think of this article as an X-rated film that you should proceed to view with caution.
Horror fans were already praising writer and director Ti West in 2022 for resurrecting a beloved era of the slasher sub-genre with his dark, dirty, 1979-set hit, X, before they were immediately treated with a peek at a prequel inspired by cinema’s more primitive age called Pearl in a post-credits teaser. Now, it appears that the indie horror hero is tackling another monumental time in Hollywood’s storied history with the final installment of this new trilogy called MaXXXine.
Already one of the most anticipated upcoming horror movies, there is still very little that we really know regarding the plot of this X sequel, which is currently in pre-production. However, what we do know has us excited to the maxxx. The following is a guide to all the most essential and confirmed facts about the upcoming A24 movie, MaXXXine.
What Is The MaXXXine Release Date?
At the moment, MaXXXine does not have a confirmed release date. However, according to a tweet from A24’s official account, the film has gone into production as of April 12, 2023. While a date on our 2023 movies schedule is probably not likely at this point, a spot on our 2024 movies schedule has great potential.
MaXXXine’s Teaser Debuted At Pearl’s TIFF Premiere
MaXXXine was officially announced in September 2022 at the Toronto International Film Festival, which is also where Pearl premiered. In fact — similar to how said prequel was teased at the end of X — it was after the credits of that very screening when audiences first learned that the new installment was going into production with a surprise sneak-peak, as Collider reported.
The MaXXXine teaser is one of the most creative trailers in recent memory, if you ask me. Bearing an authentic-looking, VHS-style graininess and featuring Animotion’s synth-drenched 1985 hit “Obsession,” it initially appears to show an overhead shot of Los Angeles’ unmistakable Mount Lee, where the Hollywood sign stands. However, the camera hovers over the hill and continues to pan out, revealing the text “MAXXXINE” in the iconic letters’ place.
Mia Goth Will Reprise The Title Role Of MaXXXine
If you could not already guess from the cleverly spelled title alone, Mia Goth is returning to play Maxine for a second and, supposedly, final time in MaXXXine. The first time she donned a wavy brunette hairdo to play the aspiring porn star was in the A24-produced horror flick, X, but that was not her only role in the film. Now, I don’t know about you, but I had no idea that was also Goth playing the elderly and murderous Pearl – whom she also reprised in her own self-titled prequel – under Oscar-worthy makeup, until the end credits rolled.
The London-born actor’s Scream Queen legacy actually dates back years before starring in West’s trilogy, beginning with the UK-based post-apocalyptic thriller, The Survivalist, in 2015 and Gore Verbinski’s disturbing mindbender, A Cure for Wellness, the following year. After appearing in another unnerving British drama called Marrowbone in 2017, Goth went on to star in Luca Guadagnino’s Suspiria remake for Amazon Studios and another creepy A24 film called High Life in 2018. She more recently tapped into her dark side to collaborate with Brandon Cronenberg on his twisted, satirical 2023 horror flick, Infinity Pool.
The MaXXXine Cast Also Features Kevin Bacon, Lily Collins, And More
Considering how Maxine was the only surviving central character from the X cast, it should come as no surprise that none of Mia Goth’s co-stars are returning for the follow-up. However, the newcomers to the franchise – as revealed in a video posted to Twitter by A24 – are, undeniably, a source of excitement, such as horror movie royalty Kevin Bacon (known for the original Friday the 13th and 1990’s Tremors, to name a few) and Lily Collins (whose last tastes of horror include playing Ted Bundy’s girlfriend in Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil and Vile and the Apple TV+ anthology series, Calls).
The MaXXXine cast also includes The Crown cast member Elizabeth Debicki, fellow MCU star Bobby Cannavale, Michelle Monaghan (who played dual roles in Netflix’s hit miniseries, Echoes), and the legendary, multi-Emmy nominated star of Breaking Bad and The Mandalorian (to name a few), Giancarlo Esposito. The ensemble also features a pair of notable musicians – namely Halsey (who made her official acting debut in a feature film as part of the Sing 2 voice cast) and Moses Sumney, who appeared in 2015’s Creed as a member of Bianca’s band.
MaXXXine Takes Place After The Events Of X
As previously mentioned, the first follow-up to X, called Pearl, is a prequel that Goth also co-wrote with West to chronicle the title character’s struggles to achieve stardom as deep-seated, homicidal tendencies begin to take form. For anyone who has been dying to see what happens after the events of the first film, the wait is not far from over.
As West confirmed in a September 2022 interview with Bloody Disgusting, MaXXXine is a direct sequel to X that will allow audiences to catch up on what Goth’s character has been doing since she became the sole survivor of a horrifying Texas farmhouse massacre. Perhaps the film will also touch further on her past life as the daughter of a fundamentalist Christian preacher, which was revealed in the first film. The movie will also take the time-spanning franchise into a whole new decade.
MaXXXine Will Reflect How Hollywood Changed In The ‘80s
While focusing on a group of people trying to break into the 1970s adult film industry, X was, at its core, really an homage to old school slasher movies of the time — especially 1974’s The Texas Chain Saw Massacre. Meanwhile, Pearl was a bonafide slasher itself, but was made to resemble the bright, Technicolor aesthetic of classic musicals like 1955’s Oklahoma. We cannot wait to see what creepy classics West will pay tribute to with MaXXXine, which actually takes place at a time when the slasher genre was at its most definitive and fruitful.
According to IndieWire, this next film will follow Maxine as her ongoing pursuit for fame takes her to Los Angeles in 1985. An earlier article by the same publication features West claiming that the then-untitled MaXXXine would be about “how home video has affected people,” in the same way that X was about the effects of amateurish indie filmmaking at the time it was set and Pearl was about Old Hollywood’s dark hidden secrets. It really is refreshing to see a horror franchise offering potent historical commentary amid its more grotesque viscera.
Ti West Is Writing, Directing, And Producing MaXXXine
I think most fans would agree that the best horror movie franchises are the ones in which (nearly) every installment is helmed by the same filmmaker. For instance, there is Sam Raimi with the original Evil Dead movies trilogy, Wes Craven with the first four Scream movies, and… well, I guess there are not too many other examples, are there? That gives me all the more reason to be excited that Ti West’s X trilogy is a purely singular vision as he is returning as the writer, director, and producer (along with frequent collaborator Jacob Jaffe) of MaXXXine, according to Deadline.
West first broke out with his third feature-length effort, 2009’s The House of the Devil — another period horror flick and eerie slow-burn with allusions to ‘80s-era Satanic Panic — and followed that up with a straight-to-video sequel to Cabin Fever the same year. He later submitted his take on the haunted house (or hotel) genre with 2011’s The Innkeepers, teamed-up with some of his indie horror compatriots for 2012’s acclaimed anthology horror movie V/H/S, and put out his own found footage thriller in 2013 with The Sacrament. X actually marked the filmmaker's return to horror cinema after making the 2016 western, In a Valley of Violence, and helming episodes of horror TV shows like Wayward Pines and Amazon Prime’s Them.
Rarely have I anticipated the third installment of a horror franchise this strongly, but what West and Goth have done with the story so far is astonishing. See how it all ends when MaXXXine (like all the other upcoming A24 movies) hits theaters… eventually.
