Every trilogy has its grand conclusion. Return of the King, Return of the Jedi and The Dark Knight Rises are all movies that faced epic odds to deliver a satisfying ending in the face of unprecedented success. In a sense, Ti West’s upcoming horror film MaXXXine is staring down those sorts of expectations too, as it’s the follow up to the sweeping slasher hits X and Pearl. That wave of anticipation is about to grow a bit higher, as an image of stars Mia Goth and Halsey has been released, showing the ladies walking the streets of ‘80s Los Angeles.
A24 dropped the first photo from the porno slasher three-quel, which picks up years after X’s ending saw aspiring actor/adult film star Maxine Minx (Mia Goth) as its sole survivor. MaXXXine continues to follow that quest of stardom, as Goth’s protagonist navigates an industry that’s a bit different from when we last saw it. Don’t take our word for it though, as you can sneak your own peek at that image, included below:
What we know about MaXXXine certainly supports this photo is showing our girl pursuing that life she so richly deserves, and nothing less. It only feels like a matter of time before we see Maxine break into a murderous rampage to make it happen, crushing all obstacles in her way. Though it has to be said that Halsey's character looks pretty tough herself, so who's to say Maxine won't find herself passing on the madness she seemed to share with her previous foe?
That's the energy that saw her and Pearl bond before becoming enemies, as we saw the older woman who became infatuated with X’s eventual protagonist go through her own obstacles in the prequel Pearl. Though instead of using rural backroads and town centers as the heart of its action, MaXXXine brings it all to the sort of town you need to be in to make it big,
In discussing the few plot details known to the world, writer/director Ti West has mentioned how the VHS boom would be influential to this chapter of his cinema-inspired series. Just as Pearl took its cues from the Technicolor age of The Wizard of Oz and X went straight up Texas Chainsaw Massacre on its audience, MaXXXine is poised to borrow some element or another from ‘80s cinema to tell its tale.
The wait for Ti West and Mia Goth’s next project together is possibly the most hotly-anticipated slasher movie of the year. It’s certainly high up on the list for loyal fans who have continued to delight in the tradition of every new installment introducing a secretly-filmed companion. Whether MaXXXine will truly be the end of this saga has yet to be seen, but if it inspires the sort of reactions that Pearl still inspires, we might just have another truly amazing trilogy existing in the world of blockbuster horror.
While we don’t have a release date for MaXXXine, most fans are assuming it’ll wind up being eventually announced on the schedule of 2023 new movie releases. In the meantime, those of you wanting to watch or refresh yourselves on X can mark that spot with the help of a Showtime add-on to your Paramount+ subscription.
