The birth of original horror franchises are rare. A sequel greenlit and shot back-to-back with the first film, even more so. Ti West managed to do so through distributor A24 this year. In a surprising turn, Ti West announced after the premiere of X earlier this year that the film will have a prequel, now in theaters, Pearl. Now, after the premiere of Pearl earlier this week, Ti West announced there will be a third film titled MaXXXine. This usually uncommon occurrence is a shocking yet welcome surprise for horror fans, as there is rarely ever a treat like this.
Horror has long been known for its franchises. From Halloween and Scream to The Conjuring, many iconic films and characters have been created for decades. Yet, in recent years, there has been a drought of original horror series. Some original films of late are lucky enough to achieve a sequel, though that does not guarantee a successful franchise. Most horror sequels generally come from already existing film franchises. That does not mean Ti West's X franchise is alone however. In 2021 horror fans were greeted with Netflix's experiment in the Fear Street trilogy, which released across three weeks that summer. It seemed to do well enough, as more films have been teased. Other than this trilogy, there hasn't been much in the area of new franchise possibilities until X premiered in March earlier this year.
Ti West's announcement is still incredibly shocking, especially after West had revealed that he had never planned to make a prequel, and it was due to the two-week quarantine when entering New Zealand that he wrote it. Running his plan by Mia Goth, who stars as both Maxine and Pearl in the films, both were shot back-to-back on the same set. X and Pearl were thought to be a great surprise for horror fans, as something like this never happens. While not seen very often, it does make sense. A24 famously (generally) focuses on lower budget projects, and horror can be very low budget and still achieve great heights, especially in the slasher genre. And of course it does help that all the sets were already complete for the additional filming of Pearl.
Pearl was not the only surprise that Ti West had up his sleeve, as earlier this week at the premiere of Pearl he announced a third film to complete the trilogy, MaXXXine, with Mia Goth once again returning to star as the titular character. So far as it seems, it looks like X is not going anywhere any time soon. MaXXXine is looking to start production soon, and by the looks of the teaser, is taking the story to Hollywood.
West's inventive idea of his franchise might be what A24 saw potential in. So far, each film is a very different. X provided a 70s style slasher akin to The Texas Chain Saw Massacre while Pearl is drawing from the technicolor era of Hollywood instead of rehashing the slasher style of X. Now MaXXXine will be taking inspiration from the 1980s VHS home video boom, sure to provide yet again another very different experience for the franchise moving forward.
It seems surprises are in no short supply for West and Goth's collaboration on this X trilogy. Perhaps there are more surprises up their sleeves in the future. For now, horror fans can revel in a trilogy that was never anticipated, but nevertheless is delivering a high quality and unforgettable experience in the cinema. The critically acclaimed Pearl is in theaters now, sure to be shocking and delivering a shining performance from Mia Goth, with MaXXXine coming soon. It is a good time to be a horror fan, and with the quick greenlight given to Ti West on these films, maybe more studios will give horror a chance at becoming a franchise again.