For the first time in company history, A24 is getting into the novelization business.
On Tuesday, A24 announced that Ti West’s X film series — X, Pearl, and MaXXXine — is receiving novelizations by acclaimed author Tim Waggoner. X will be published on September 24, 2024, with Pearl to follow on November 19, 2024. MaXXXine is scheduled to be released in early 2025.
X costs $18 and comes in a pocket-sized paperback format. The novelizations will feature “grisly new details” from West’s screenplay.
“What made writing the novelization of X different was that Ti West was very hands-on throughout the entire process,” Waggoner said in a press release. “He read various drafts of the novel and offered great suggestions for improvement, ensuring that my novelization portrayed his characters accurately and aligned with his overall vision for the film, while at the same time allowing me the creative freedom to make X my story.”
Ti West’s X Trilogy, novelized.
• X – Sept 24, 2024
• Pearl – Nov 19, 2024
• MaXXXine – Early 2025 pic.twitter.com/GZnemtlNjp— A24 (@A24) August 6, 2024
X follows a group of filmmakers in 1979 rural Texas who set out to make an adult film. The crew includes adult film star Maxine (Mia Goth), producer Wayne (Martin Henderson), dancer Bobby-Lynne (Brittany Snow), actor Jackson (Scott Mescudi), director RJ (Owen Campbell), and RJ’s girlfriend Lorraine (Jenna Ortega). The group films at a secluded farm owned by elderly couple Pearl (Goth) and Howard (Stephen Ure). When Pearl and Howard find out about the pornographic film, it sets off a deadly course of events.
Released in March 2022, X grossed over $15 million on a $1 million budget. After filming X, West secretly filmed Pearl, a prequel origin story starring Goth as the titular villain in 1918. Premiering in September 2022, Pearl received mainly positive reviews, with critics spotlighting Goth’s committed performance.
West released the final film of the trilogy, MaXXXine, in July. The film picks up with Maxine’s attempt to become a movie star in 1980s Los Angeles. However, her plans for stardom are threatened by the arrival of a serial killer.
