Elizabeth Debicki surprised team by signing up for horror MaXXXine

Elizabeth Debicki shocked her team by agreeing to star in her debut horror film MaXXXine.

After wrapping up her portrayal of Princess Diana in The Crown, the Australian actress filmed Ti West's slasher horror, which follows Mia Goth's titular character as she tries to become a famous movie star.

Debicki, who plays a director who casts Maxine in a film, revealed to Variety that her team were surprised when she agreed to the role.

"I think they thought I might say, 'Why are you sending me this?'" Debicki recalled. "But I thought it was brilliant. I sat down and read it and I read it right through. That's my test. I called them back and said, 'Let's do it.'"

The Golden Globe-winning actress admitted that she has been sent horror scripts in the past but she turned them down because they were "so dark".

"It's not really for me because that world is so dark. I'm very cautious about the things I want to put myself through," Debicki said. "I've often thought, 'Oh, God, I can barely read that. It's too frightening.'"

Explaining how MaXXXine stood out, she continued, "This is different because the trilogy of it and it's the '80s. The quality of it... And I know I was joining this lovely cushion of people."

MaXXXine serves as the final instalment in West's horror trilogy starring Goth. Previous instalments included X and Pearl, which were both released in 2022.

The slasher, which also stars Michelle Monaghan, Bobby Cannavale, Halsey and Lily Collins, will be released in cinemas in July.