Kevin Bacon’s Private Investigator Is The Key Connection Between MaXXXine & X: Read Our Theory

The private investigator storyline teased by the tantalizing MaXXXine trailer could finally address the big reveal about Maxine Minx’s past from the shocking twist ending of X. MaXXXine is set to be the concluding chapter in Ti West’s X trilogy. The first movie, X, pitted ambitious adult movie star Maxine against sexually frustrated serial killer Pearl. The second one, Pearl, filled in the killer’s backstory. The third movie, MaXXXine, is refocusing on Maxine. Set in 1985, it’ll revolve around Maxine’s attempts to break into mainstream stardom in Hollywood (while evading the notorious real-life mass murderer “The Night Stalker”).

There are a number of exciting story threads introduced in the MaXXXine trailer. Michelle Monaghan and Bobby Cannavale are playing two LAPD detectives on the Night Stalker’s trail. Elizabeth Debicki is playing a big-time Hollywood filmmaker directing Maxine in her first non-X-rated movie, The Puritan II. But arguably the most intriguing storyline set up by the MaXXXine trailer is the private investigator searching for Maxine. Played by Kevin Bacon, this private investigator could be the key to uncovering Maxine’s past after the jaw-dropping revelation about her father in the final twist of X.

Who Hired The Private Investigator In MaXXXine? X’s Ending May Hold The Answer

When Bacon’s private detective is introduced in the MaXXXine trailer, he tells her that the mysterious client who hired him is determined to find her and will one day come knocking at her door. The trailer doesn’t reveal exactly who hired the private eye – it could be someone with a connection to Pearl and her husband, or it could be related to something to be revealed in MaXXXine itself – but the answer could be hidden in X’s ending. The final twist in X completely recontextualized the whole movie and suggested a complicated backstory for the Maxine character.

All throughout X, a ruthless televangelist can be heard preaching against sexual liberation on the television in Pearl’s house. The televangelist is played by Simon Prast and, at first, it just seems like his soundbites were included to complement the movie’s themes of sexual repression and its unintended consequences. However, the final scene of the movie reveals that the televangelist has a more personal connection to the story. As it turns out, he’s Maxine’s estranged father. Her sexual liberation is likely a result of being raised in his deeply religious household.

MaXXXine Can Finally Flesh Out X’s Unresolved Ending Twist

While it was an interesting twist to reveal the televangelist to be Maxine’s father at the end of X, it ultimately asked more questions than it answered. Did Pearl and her husband know that the adult film star staying on their property was the estranged daughter of their favorite TV personality? Does Maxine’s father know about her X-rated film career or has he not seen or heard from her since she left home? Did she leave home amicably or did she have to run away?

The first follow-up to X, Pearl, was a prequel set long before Maxine was even born, so it didn’t have the opportunity to explain X’s twist ending. The revelation of Maxine’s father has remained a mystery since X was released. Now that West and Mia Goth are reteaming for a direct sequel to X, they can finally explain the implications of X’s shocking final twist.

How Maxine’s Father Could Fit Into Mia Goth’s X Sequel

There are two different ways that Maxine’s father’s return could play into the final chapter of the X trilogy. It’s possible that he just wants to bring her home. He realizes his overbearing ways are the reason she left in the first place and he wants to change and be more open-minded. Alternatively – and this is the more terrifying option – he might want to find Maxine so he can punish her. If he’s become aware of Maxine’s career in pornography, then he might want to bring her home to chastise and rehabilitate her into following his more conservative lifestyle.

This would present an interesting new conflict for Maxine. In X, she already had to escape from the clutches of a maniacal religious zealot who strongly disagreed with her liberated lifestyle. But she had no personal connection to Pearl, so she had no reservations about killing her to get through the front door. If she’s captured and trapped back at her childhood home by her overbearing father, she might have more reservations about shooting her way out. This could be an exciting sequence for MaXXXine’s third act, and a great way to end the trilogy.