Kevin Bacon’s New Horror Movie Risks Creating A Paradox With His $60 Million Slasher Franchise From 44 Years Ago

The highly anticipated third film in Ti West’s X trilogy, MaXXXine, is coming to theaters soon, and with it comes a cast of stars like Kevin Bacon, whose presence in the film may just cause a huge horror movie paradox. MaXXXine is the third and final film in a series of horror movies written and directed by Ti West. The first two films, X and Pearl were released in 2022, and offer background on MaXXXine’s titular main character, played by Mia Goth. Now, alongside Elizabeth Debicki, Lily Collins, Halsey, Giancarlo Esposito, and Kevin Bacon, the decade-spanning story will finally end.

A unique aspect of the X trilogy is the way it bends fiction and reality. The movies follow two main characters who are, essentially, the same. Two women, Pearl and Maxine, are intent on becoming famous actresses, and aren’t afraid to get their hands dirty to do it. In MaXXXine, it seems that Maxine intends to get her start in horror movies, which is already a fairly meta situation on its own. But this concept only grows more ironic when looking at the cast, and in particular, Kevin Bacon, who arguably also got his start in the horror genre.

MaXXXine’s Horror Actors Reference Could Easily Include Kevin Bacon In Friday The 13th

Kevin Bacon appeared in Friday the 13th in 1980

During MaXXXine’s newly released trailer, there is a scene in which Maxine asks a friend to name actors who got their start in horror movies. The friend responds with Jamie Lee Curtis, John Travolta, Demi Moore, and Brooke Shields before Maxine cuts him off, claiming that she will be the next one. However, if he had continued, one particular name he could have said is Kevin Bacon, who is slated to play a private investigator in MaXXXine. One of Bacon’s earliest roles, in 1980, was Jack Burrell in the iconic horror movie, Friday the 13th.

To be fair, many audiences may not count Friday the 13th as Kevin Bacon’s start because it was not his very first movie, however Bacon’s role in the horror film was pivotal for him in many ways. Though Bacon’s first claim to fame was a small role in National Lampoon’s Animal House, playing Jack Burrell in Friday the 13th kept the actor’s momentum going. Even just dying in a horror movie pushed him forward to be able to play Ren McCormack in Footloose, and more. And now, Bacon is returning to the horror scene in a completely different role.

Kevin Bacon’s Private Investigator Character In MaXXXine Could Create A Paradox With His Friday The 13th Role

MaXXXine’s pop culture references could create a Kevin Bacon paradox

In MaXXXine, Kevin Bacon plays a private investigator, which is obviously quite different from the teenage murder victim he played in Friday the 13th, however these roles could most certainly mix if certain circumstances were met. First and foremost, MaXXXine seems to be a movie steeped in pop culture, with Maxine deep in the fashion and culture of the 1980s. And even based on the scene in which Maxine asks her friend about horror actors, it is clear that the film isn’t afraid to use reality to bolster Maxine’s story. Therefore, Kevin Bacon’s horror past could create a paradox.

Since Friday the 13th came out in 1980, and MaXXXine takes place in 1985, it would not be too difficult for Maxine to discuss the Friday the 13th movie franchise, as it was one of the biggest horror film series at that time. By mentioning Friday the 13th within MaXXXine, a paradox will be born.

Overall, this is a fun bit of detail that makes the movie and its lore even more exciting and reality-bending.

MaXXXine Continues A Great Kevin Bacon Horror Trend

Kevin Bacon is actually a horror staple

MaXXXine’s Kevin Bacon horror paradox is actually quite perfect considering the fact that the actor is a horror staple. After Friday the 13th, Bacon continued appearing in horror movies, and now, has collected quite a number of wild horror films on his resume. MaXXXine will be yet another horror project that Bacon will be a part of, and hopefully, will be one of the biggest successes. Considering the success of X and Pearl, MaXXXine is highly anticipated, and if it sticks the landing, then everyone involved will likely enjoy a piece of the success.

In the end, MaXXXine is not just a dark and twisted final installment to an already unique horror series, but it now has the potential to do something incredibly cool with the horror genre. With Kevin Bacon now on-board, MaXXXine can create a subtle horror paradox that is awesome considering the actor’s horror resume. This, among other things, could put MaXXXine over the edge to be one of the greatest horror movies of the year.