MaXXXine Will Be Third Film in Ti West and Mia Goth’s X Horror Franchise

A24 has greenlit MaXXXine, a third film in the X horror franchise led by actress Mia Goth, just days before the release of Pearl, the second film in the series.

In X, released this spring, Goth played two roles: Maxine, a young actress making an adult movie, and an old woman, Pearl, who starts killing everyone involved in the production. Pearl, out Friday and co-written by West and Goth, takes us back decades before X, when Pearl was a starry-eyed farm girl with dangerous ambition.

MaXXXine  the third film of the X horror franchise. It follows Maxine after the events of X, when she sets out to make it as an actress in 1980s Los Angeles. 

The X films are an opportunity for West, an avowed lover of period horror films, to explore the movies of the past. X is heavily influenced by the 1970s grit of the Texas Chainsaw Massacre, while Pearl subverts the Technicolor era that began in the 1920s. MaXXXine chillingly revisits the 1980s, when slashers peaked — a teaser trailer released Tuesday features a jittery VHS-style aerial shot of… well, you’ll see. “Obsession,” an ’80s gem by the Los Angeles synth-pop band Animotion, plays as the camera moves through the L.A skies. (You can watch the MaXXXine teaser above.)

Maxine is hopeful and naturalistic in X, aided by confidence in powder form. In MaXXXine, things seem to have taken on a colder sheen. The characters in X are looking forward to the coming revolution in home-video adult film releases. By 1985, when MaXXXine takes place, it’s going strong.

Pearl world premiered at the Venice Film Festival to wide acclaim and played at the Toronto International Film Festival on Monday, where MaXXXine was announced. No release date was given.

MaXXXine is produced by A24, Jacob Jaffke and Ti West and executive produced by Goth. Additional producers include Kevin Turen and Harrison Kreiss.

Main image: Mia Goth as Maxine in X.

Pearl arrives in theaters nationwide on Friday.