Ti West, the director of the upcoming horror movie MaXXXine, has revealed the origin of his X trilogy’s most iconic line.
If you’re a fan of X, then you’re likely a fan of Pearl. And if you’re a fan of Pearl, then you’ll most definitely enjoy MaXXXine – the closer to West’s horror trilogy in which Mia Goth reprises her role as Maxine Minx.
Though all three movies are different in terms of style, they all have a vintage aesthetic, Goth as the lead, and plenty of blood. And all of them embody Maxine’s famous mantra: “I will not accept a life I do not deserve.”
Dexerto caught up with West ahead of the release of MaXXXine, taking the opportunity to ask about the origin of the famous line.
“It’s strange to be on the end of a trilogy that you never anticipated making a trilogy for. Your question kind of takes me back to the very beginning of the first movie,” he said.
“It really just came from a place of a character who wanted to change their life, and wanted to change their life so drastically, in such a way that was unlikely, and likely thought of as impossible by anyone around them.
“When you feel alone and you feel like you’re trying to do something challenging, sometimes you’re the only person you can talk to about it.
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“And so, I think, to give her a way to give herself advice kept her focus and kept her determination at the level it needed to be – considering what I was about to put the character through.”
And it’s safe to say she goes through a lot – and that’s before the events of MaXXXine.
West went on to discuss the connection between Maxine and Pearl (other than the fact that they are doppelgangers, of course), and how the mantra is symbolic in this sense.
Highlighting how Pearl didn’t achieve the life she wanted to, the filmmaker added, “Maxine is someone who could be on the very same path unless she motivates herself to break that pattern. And I think that’s a big part of why she has that mantra.”
MaXXXine hits theaters on Friday, July 5. For more macabre content, check out our roundup of the best horror movies of all time and the horrors to get excited about in 2024. You can also read about the Night Stalker in MaXXXine.
