MaXXXine is finally on the way, and here are 10 lingering questions from X and Pearl that the upcoming film can answer. MaXXXine is the third film in Ti West’s beloved A24 horror franchise, with it kicking off with X and Pearl in 2022 only for MaXXXine to round out the trilogy. Despite the franchise’s small scale, an immense amount of lore has been packed into the world of X and Pearl, and MaXXXine can continue this horror trend by tying up these loose ends.
Ti West’s X seemed like a stand-alone homage to horror films, with it clearly taking inspiration from classic slasher films of the 1970s and 1980s like The Texas Chain Saw Massacre. However, the prequel film Pearl ended up taking the franchise in a completely different direction, with it exploring the life of the titular starlet decades before she terrorized the main cast of characters in X. MaXXXine will pick up where X left off, exploring Maxine’s life as she travels to Hollywood in an attempt to become a star in the 1980s, possibly resolving some X and Pearl mysteries.
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10 What Happened To Maxine After The Farmhouse Massacre?
Lingering Question From X
The biggest question from X that MaXXXine will obviously answer is what happened to Maxine after the farmhouse massacre. At the end of X, Maxine is the only survivor of Pearl and Howard’s reign of terror, with her stealing Howard’s truck and driving away from the crime scene. However, Maxine isn’t seen again after this moment, with Pearl not expanding on her story at all. It isn’t yet known what occurred between Maxine’s story in X and her time in Hollywood in MaXXXine, something that the third X film needs to explain.
9 How Did Howard & Pearl Meet?
Lingering Question From Pearl
Pearl delves into the backstory of the titular killer from X a good bit, but it actually barely touches on the story of Howard, who was also a significant threat in the original film. When Pearl starts, Howard is away fighting in World War I, with the film giving very little explanation as to how they met. Howard is barely a character in Pearl, with him being more of a plot device to develop Pearl in his absence rather than a fully fleshed-out character. Because of this, much mystery surrounds Howard and Pearl’s pre-Pearl relationship.
8 Why Did Howard Stay With Pearl?
Lingering Question From Pearl
Pearl explores Pearl’s transformation into a killer, something that is consistent with the murders she commits alongside Howard in X. However, neither film explains why Howard kills, making the end of Pearl kind of confusing. Howard returns home to see Pearl with a couple of dead corpses, something that would make most people run. However, Howard chose to stay with Pearl for an unknown reason, turning him into a murderer like her. Although Howard won’t be a major part of MaXXXine, the film could flesh out his motivations a little bit more, explaining why he stayed with Pearl.
7 How Did Pearl Get Away With Murdering Her Parents?
Lingering Question From Pearl
Another major mystery from the end of Pearl has to do with how Pearl got away with murdering her parents, something that could be explained in MaXXXine. Pearl was last seen with the bodies of her parents, with her presumably getting rid of the bodies in the same way as she did other bodies: by feeding them to her alligator. However, the fact that her parents went missing surely would have been a red flag to the people in Pearl’s life, meaning that someone should have been able to deduce that Pearl was their killer.
6 How Many People Have Pearl & Howard Killed?
Lingering Question From Pearl
Pearl and Howard have clearly been killing for decades by the time that X rolls around, but an exact kill count for the couple is never specified. Pearl killed tons of people in a short time span throughout X and Pearl, meaning that it is possible that she has killed dozens more throughout her life. The couple clearly has murdering down to a science, and while their final murders occur in X, it would be interesting to know how many have died at their hands in the decades that took place off-screen.
5 What’s Going On With Maxine’s Parents?
Lingering Question From X
The ending of X contains a major twist reveal, with it being unveiled that Maxine’s father is actually a televangelist who is on at Pearl and Howard’s house. As the film explains, Maxine ran away from her family to become an actress, with her father praying that she would return home. This storyline hasn’t been expanded on at all since the conclusion of the first film, but it very well could be further fleshed out in MaXXXine, explaining what is going on with her parents.
4 Why Didn’t Maxine Get The Police At The End Of X?
Lingering Question From X
After Howard and Pearl murder all of her friends, Maxine simply flees in Howard’s truck, escaping the scene of the crime. The logical next step for Maxine would have been for her to go to the police and tell them about the murders. However, this doesn’t seem to be the case, with MaXXXine‘s marketing instead implying that she went to Hollywood. Maxine doesn’t have much of a reason to not go to the police, so MaXXXine should explain why she did or didn’t make this move.
3 Are The Police After Maxine?
Lingering Question From X
If Maxine didn’t go to the police, then the police are undoubtedly after her, something that MaXXXine could reveal. Not only was Maxine present at several murders, but she also stole Howard’s truck, meaning that the police have a way to track her. Having Maxine live life on the lam would be a fun way to make MaXXXine even more thrilling, with this loose end possibly being a story set up for the upcoming sequel.
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2 Why Do Pearl & Maxine Look Exactly Alike?
Lingering Question From X & Pearl
One of the strangest mysteries in Ti West’s horror universe has to do with why Pearl and Maxine look alike, with this being the subject of much explanation in the X fanbase. Mia Goth plays both Pearl and Maxine in the movies, with this casting choice drawing a thematic connection between the two religiously oppressed starlets. However, there may also be an in-universe explanation as to why the two look so similar, with them possibly being related.
1 Will Maxine Achieve Her Acting Dreams?
Lingering Question From X
The final lingering question from X that MaXXXine needs to answer has to do with whether or not Maxine will achieve her acting dreams. From the very beginning of X, it is clear that Maxine wants to be a star, something that she is seemingly pursuing in MaXXXine. Now that she’s in Hollywood, Maxine finally has the chance to make it big, with MaXXXine hopefully revealing the fate of her status as an aspiring actress.
MaXXXine
- Director
- Ti West
- Cast
- Mia Goth
- Franchise
- X
