Pearl News & Updates: Everything We Know About Ti West's X Prequel
Warning: Contains SPOILERS for Ti West's X.
Director Ti West already has an X sequel in the works - here's everything we know about the Pearl movie to date. First released domestically on March 18th, 2022, Ti West's erotic horror X has opened to highly positive reviews, with critics noting X's desire to return to a well-trodden slasher formula that firmly acts as a poignant homage to classics such as John Carpenter's Halloween and Dario Argento's seminal Tenebre. X's immediate success has given rise to talk of a follow-up movie, with West's movie's bleak ending leaving ample room for a sequel or spin-off story.
Yet despite Sheriff Dentler (James Gaylyn) finding RJ's tape at the end of X, director Ti West has stated (per LA Times) that he has already written a prequel for his new slasher movie titled Pearl. In the same interview, West outlines his intentions for Pearl, saying that the prequel will "will be a melodrama meets the Technicolor style of Mary Poppins... made as a demented Disney movie." West goes on to say that the majority of Pearl has already been filmed, with the X prequel in editing as of March 2022.
As a result, director Ti West has already confirmed that Pearl will act as a prequel for X by following the titular antagonist in her younger years. Set during World War I in 1918, the prequel will explore the origins of Pearl and shed light on how the cabin where the majority of X's violence takes place was once used as a boarding house during the war. With this in mind, here's everything we know about Ti West's X prequel to date, including when Pearl could see a theatrical release.
Although X ends in finality for Pearl's (Mia Goth) character as her head is squashed by a truck wheel, Ti West's movie subtly sets up several avenues for the Pearl prequel. The biggest of these is the reveal that Maxine (also played by A Cure For Wellness' Mia Goth) is the daughter of a conservative Christian whose speeches frequently played on Pearl and Howard's TV, indicating the now-dead couple's links to a more religious world than X deigns to reveal across its runtime. In addition to Maxine's heritage setting up an origin narrative, there is also the fact that X contains ample nods to Pearl's youth which she hungers for once again - with West almost imploring audiences to wonder about Pearl and Howard's (Stephen Ure) younger years and how they turned into killers.
Only one character and cast member has been confirmed to appear in Pearl to date. This, naturally, is the titular Pearl, who will be played once again by Mia Goth, mirroring her X casting - with Goth also serving as a writer for Pearl. Additionally, there is a strong chance that a younger version of Howard could be portrayed in Pearl, with X leaving how the murderous couple met largely shrouded in mystery.
Given Ti West's confirmation that Pearl entered post-production in March 2022, there is a strong chance that audiences could see the X prequel in theatres before the end of the year. Pearl's orchestral score is set to be completed by May 2022, which further points to a swift studio turnaround, with the vast majority of Pearl filmed simultaneously alongside X. As a result, Pearl could be one of the quickest turnaround projects slasher fans are likely to see given West and Goth's impressive forward planning when creating X's story.