MaXXXine, Pearl, and X: Explaining the connection between Mia Goth's characters

MaXXXine is the third film in Ti West's acclaimed X horror trilogy and it finally started streaming on Max on October 18, meaning the film is about to be discovered by tons of new fans and viewers who missed out on seeing it in theaters.

I'm sure there will be a decent chunk of people who check out MaXXXine without having seen the previous films in the trilogy, too, meaning X and its prequel film Pearl. Most people understand that Mia Goth is the star of all three movies, but there is some confusion regarding the character(s) she plays.

In short, Goth only portrays two characters: Pearl and Maxine Minx, but it can get a little confusing considering young!Pearl and Maxine are meant to look identical. She also plays the older version of Pearl who terrorizes Maxine and her friends in the first film of the trilogy.

Pearl Douglas

We first meet Pearl in X, which is set in the year 1979. At this point in her life, Pearl is between 70 and 80 years old and married to Howard Douglas. They live together on a Texas homestead, the same one Pearl grew up on as a child and young adult.

Actress Mia Goth plays Maxine and Pearl in X, meaning she's playing both the film's antagonist and the protagonist. When Maxine is fighting Pearl, that's really Goth fighting herself, except as Pearl she's wearing prosthetics and heavy makeup. Pearl and Howard end up murdering all of Maxine's friends, leaving her as the sole survivor.

The movie Pearl is a prequel to X set in 1918. At this point in Pearl's life, she's in her late teens/early 20s. Goth also plays the young version of Pearl who stars in the 2022 movie.

Maxine Minx

Goth played Pearl in both stages of her life and she also plays Maxine in X and the newest movie MaXXXine. After the events of X, Maxine is left the sole survivor of the Texas farmhouse massacre, but she refuses to give up on her dreams of becoming a star.

MaXXXine takes place in 1985 and sees Maxine living in Los Angeles to pursue her dreams of stardom and transition from the adult film industry into mainstream Hollywood. Again, Goth plays the older Maxine we meet in MaXXXine and there are a few flashbacks that feature Pearl.

Are Maxine and Pearl the same person? Are they related at all?

Maxine and Pearl might be doppelgangers but they aren't technically related. If Maxine had never gone to the homestead in Texas, she never would have crossed paths with Pearl. But director/writer Ti West has commented about the dual role and his decision to have Goth play both characters. They aren't the same person, but they have similar motivations and character traits.

During an interview with Letterboxd, West said he'd "always thought of [Pearl and Maxine] as different characters but the same person."

In another interview, West talked about how the connection between Maxine and Pearl hints at what Maxine's own future could look like if she were to walk the same path as Pearl. Their similarities are why Pearl takes such an interest in Maxine and her friends in the first movie.

Also, both of them have a refrain that echoes the other's with Maxine often saying "I will not accept a life I do not deserve," and Pearl's now iconic "I'm a star" scene. There is a connection between these two women that goes beyond their identical appearances.

MaXXXine is now streaming on Max.