The X post-credits scene 2022 is certainly intriguing, but what's even more interesting is that it unexpectedly set up a franchise that's already two entries deep. The ending of X leaves only its final girl, Maxine (also played by Mia Goth), standing after a bloody closing act. Howard has his long-feared heart attack after his copulation with his wife before Maxine reverses over Pearl's head with RJ's (Owen Campbell) van in a brutal act of revenge. This leaves Maxine free to discover her heritage as the daughter of a prominent televangelist before she rides off into the night in time to avoid Sheriff Dentler (James Gaylyn) and the rest of his rural police force. So, what happens in the X movie post-credits scene?

As a coda to all of this carnage, Ti West's X includes the X post-credits scene 2022 that sets up the prequel movie for Pearl's eponymous character, titled Pearl. This clip takes X audiences all the way back to 1918 (X takes place in 1979), showing Pearl's tribulations as a young woman living amidst the backdrop of World War I. Here's the X movie post-credits scene explained and how it sets up Ti West's horror franchise.

Related: X Movie Cast & Character Guide

Does X Have A Post-Credits Scene?

Mia Goth in a poster for X.

As aforementioned, X does include a short post-credits scene that acts as a teaser for Ti West's Pearl prequel. The X post-credits scene 2022 adopts a different visual style in comparison to the main body of Ti West's film, using grainier, black-and-white cuts interchanged with colorful Technicolor-style shots to evoke a different time period. It gave audiences their first extended look at Mia Goth as the young Pearl, with the teased X prequel arriving 6 months after the first movie's release.

Pearl Movie Trailer Explained: What X's Post-Credits Movie Teased

A pair of legs walking towards a house in the poster for X

The X movie post-credits scene acted as a teaser for Ti West's prequel movie Pearl, which followed X's primary antagonist in her youth. Just four days before X's domestic theatrical release, director Ti West stated (via LA Times) that he had already written a prequel for his latest slasher movie titled Pearl. Six months later, Pearl was released to rave reviews, receiving a 90% critics score on the review aggregator site Rotten Tomatoes. What the X movie post-credits scene revealed is that what was to come was an origin story for the movie's main villain — and Pearl didn't disappoint. Pearl followed the young villain during WWI while her husband Howard was away at war. She lived with her overbearing and critical mother, and her invalid father, on the same farm that's featured in X. With her big ambitions to become a chorus girl, audiences soon realize that Pearl will stop at nothing to get what she wants.

How X Setup Pearl Even Before Its After Credits Scene

ti west's x prequel pearl

Although X ends in finality for Pearl's character as her head is squashed by a wheel, Ti West's movie subtly sets up several avenues for the Pearl prequel even prior to its announcement. The biggest of these is the reveal that Maxine 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 younger years and their descent into evil.

X Is Getting A Sequel Too

Mia Goth Maxxxine poster

Whether people knew it or not, Ti West set up a whole horror franchise with the X post-credits scene 2022. People thought that Pearl would be the end of it, but the director has come out with the news that another movie set in the X universe means to follow up the first installment. The upcoming X sequel, titled MaXXXine, will follow the final girl Maxine Minx as she tries to make it as a star in 1980s Los Angeles. A teaser trailer has been dropped, giving a taste of the technicolor look and feel of the movie, so MaXXXine is sure to be just as aesthetically pleasing as its predecessors. West announced the upcoming sequel, which had been a secret, at the Toronto Film Festival screening of Pearl. The new movie will also be produced by the indie-cool studio A24.

Related: Pearl Movie Ending Explained (In Detail)

When Will MaXXXine's Trailer Release Online?

As of now, there is no official trailer for MaXXXine. There has been an official teaser, which was dropped at the Toronto International Film Festival by Ti West himself during his screening of Pearl. The teaser is simple enough, but it does give a taste of the 80s technicolor style that's sure to be a great followup to X's 70s tones. The MaXXXine teaser features a toe-tapping beat as audiences are flown over the famous Hollywood sign — but it's been changed to read "Maxxxine." Hopefully, the wait to see Mia Goth as Maxine once more won't be too long, as many are more than eager to find out just what X's final girl has been up to since escaping from Pearl and Howard on the farm.

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