Director of fan-favorite horror movie trilogy teases idea for fourth instalment in the franchise, says it'll be more like Pearl than X

Mia Goth as Pearl in A24 horror prequel Pearl
(Image credit: A24)

MaXXXine hasn't even been released yet, but director Ti West is already teasing details about a potential fourth installment in the horror movie franchise.

In a new interview with Entertainment Weekly, the filmmaker confirmed that the upcoming flick, which sees Mia Goth's titular character go toe-to-toe with a serial killer, while trying to make it as an actress in '80s Los Angeles, will "probably be the end of the Maxine era". Though he went on to say that an "unexpected" spin-off, in the vein of prequel Pearl, could be on the cards...

"I do have one idea that plays into these movies that could maybe happen," West noted. "I don't know if it'll be next. It might be. We'll see. I'll say that, if there's more to be done in this X franchise, it's certainly not what people are expecting it to be. 

"It's not just picking up again a few years later and whatever. It's different in the way that Pearl was an unexpected departure," he continued. "It's another unexpected departure."

Mia Goth and Halsey in MaXXXine

(Image credit: A24)

Released in 2022, X saw Goth play both Maxine, an adult film star who finds herself having to fend off a jealous onlooker's murderous attack during her boyfriend's porn shoot in rural Texas, and the envious, wizened, blood-thirsty Pearl. Set on the same isolated farm as its predecessor, its follow-up Pearl explores how the old lady's wishes of escaping her town didn't work out. 

Halsey, Elizabeth Debicki, Moses Sumney, Michelle Monaghan, Bobby Cannavale, Lily Collins, Giancarlo Esposito, and Kevin Bacon round out the supporting cast of MaXXXine, which releases on July 5. While we wait, check out our picks of the best horror movies of all time and all the upcoming horror movies heading our way.

Amy West

I am an Entertainment Writer here at GamesRadar+, covering all things TV and film across our Total Film and SFX sections. Elsewhere, my words have been published by the likes of Digital Spy, SciFiNow, PinkNews, FANDOM, Radio Times, and Total Film magazine.