Ti West has revealed plans for a third installment in his ever-expanding X series, just days before follow-up Pearl is released in the US. The filmmaker announced the new movie at the Toronto Film Festival on September 12, as he shared an exciting first look.
The clip, which is being hosted exclusively by Deadline, opens on Los Angeles in 1985. Animotion's Obsession plays in the background as the camera pans over the hills to unveil the sequel to the sequel's title, MaXXXine, in place of the iconic 'HOLLYWOOD' sign. "Coming soon" it reads shortly after, suggesting we won't have much longer to wait before it reaches cinemas.
Unlike Pearl, which shot in secret while X was in production, MaXXXine hasn't been filmed yet – but the publication ensures fans of the franchise that it has already been officially greenlight by A24. Mia Goth, who led both X and Pearl, is set to reprise her role from the former, as the character, a former adult film actress, pursues fame and fortune. Having survived a jealous, old onlooker's murderous rampage during her producer boyfriend's porn shoot in rural Texas six years prior, Maxine will do whatever it takes to achieve her dreams and make herself a legitimate movie star.
Before we see how far she'll go to achieve her dreams, Pearl, which comes out on September 16, will feature Goth playing a much younger version of the wizened woman in X (who she played covered head-to-toe in prosthetics). Set on the same isolated farm as its predecessor, it explores how Pearl's wish of escaping her town doesn't work out. Though that shouldn't come as a shock; in X, Pearl was so bitter over Max's youth and rising stardom, she offed all of her friends before trying to kill her. David Corenswet, Tandi Wright, Matthew Sunderland, and Emma Jenkins-Purro round out the supporting cast.
While we wait for more news on MaXXXine, check out our list of the most exciting upcoming movies coming our way in 2022 and beyond.
Happy Death Day director says he once wrote a movie based on "a very big" horror franchise, but a studio rejected it because it had a gay lead
Paranormal Activity series writer jokes about how writing follow-ups to the hit found-footage horror "was a thankless task" because of the illusion that the movies are real: "'Oh, it’s so easy! You improvise!'"
