X and its prequel Pearl were low-budget horror movies, but surprise hits. So it’s arguably no wonder that the newest instalment, MaXXXine, has been able to get a higher-profile cast. Kevin Bacon, Bobby Cannavale, and Michelle Monaghan are among the A-list actors who will be joining the movie, where Mia Goth’s Maxine, the lone survivor of the massacre seen in X, heads to Hollywood to try to break into the porn industry.
Seriously, The Mandalorian’s Giancarlo Esposito, The Crown’s Elizabeth Debicki, Emily in Paris’ Lily Collins, and for some reason singers Halsey and Moses Sumney have all signed aboard MaXXXine, along with Bacon, Monaghan, and Cannavale. That’s quite the upgrade, and clear evidence at how good (and successful) this increasingly popular horror series is considered.
Other than this cast, we know very little about what MaXXXine is about; the only official summary says, “The film follows Maxine (Goth), after the events of X, as the sole survivor who continues her journey towards fame setting out to make it as an actress in 1980s Los Angeles.” X already saw Maxine film her first movie, thinking she’d begun to fulfil her destiny as a movie star — but it looks like MaXXXine will thrust her even further into the seedier side of making adult films. The Hollywood Reporter also says Espositio will be playing an agent of Z-list actors and porn stars, so this film should be just as sexually fixated as the first two, which is presumably where things will start to get horrific.
Ti West returns to direct this third instalment in the X series — an altogether surprising thing to say given the speed these films get churned out, alongside their status as the rare original Hollywood franchise as of late — which begins production later this month. It is presumably due sometime in 2024, but given West’s penchant for getting these films out the gate at a remarkable pace, maybe we should expect it sooner rather than later.