The Toxic Avenger is getting reimagined at Legendary Pictures, and new images reveal a closer look at what’s to come in the reboot.
It was previously revealed that Macon Blair was writing and directing an all-new take on The Toxic Avenger, based on the popular dark comedy originally made by Troma Entertainment. Peter Dinklage of Game of Thrones fame stars as the man who becomes the titular vigilante after an accidental exposure to toxic waste, but beyond this similarity, there will be many differences compared to the original. That includes new characters, with Elijah Wood and Kevin Bacon playing villainous brothers, among others.
Entertainment Weekly has just published a story about the film, and it includes new photos of some of the different characters. The new images can be seen in the embedded X posts below.
First look at Elijah Wood, Kevin Bacon and Peter Dinklage in ‘THE TOXIC AVENGER’ reboot.
Source: @EW pic.twitter.com/6p39xg9UCY
— TheComicsGig (@TheComicsGig) September 20, 2023
First look at Peter Dinklage, Elijah Wood, Taylour Paige and Jacob Tremblay in Macon Blair’s ‘THE TOXIC AVENGER.’
(via @EW | https://t.co/3yJGmC1cWk) pic.twitter.com/k3usNDUMP4
— Film Updates (@FilmUpdates) September 20, 2023
Wood is looking unrecognizable in his role as Fritz Garbinger, who Blair describes as “sort of Riff Raff from The Rocky Horror Picture Show and the Danny DeVito Penguin mixed together.” Fritz’s brother, corporate overlord Bob Garbinger, is described as more of a Lex Luthor-type. He’s the head of a corrupt company and is seen as the “golden god” of the family, while Wood’s Fritz is the “runt.”
As for the star, Peter Dinklage plays a father named Winston Gooze, who works as a janitor at a chemical factory. It’s a change from Mark Torgl’s Melvin Furd, the gym janitor in the original who becomes the Toxic Avenger. The characters are different in many ways, though they are both drawn into a destiny that awaits them as the “Monster Hero.”
“There is a terrible industrial accident that renders him a mutant and an outcast, but also gives him some super strength and super abilities that set him on a path of being an unlikely vigilante in this downward-spiraling society,” Blair explains. “Similar to the original Toxic Avenger, he’s singularly unqualified to be a hero. He’s not especially brave, he’s not especially crafty, but he has his heart in the right place, and he starts taking it to the limit when he’s pushed into a corner.”
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On the new Toxie’s look following his transformation, Blair added, “In terms of color palette, we drew from the cartoon, actually. But it’s practical effects. You can see all the goopy little boils and stuff like that. And we definitely stayed true to some of the really iconic elements: the tutu that’s melted onto his body, the janitor’s mop as his super weapon.”
Blair also notes how there’s a dangerous gang in town called the Killer Nutz, made up of murderers and musicians who enjoy making a KISS-like entrance, that the new Toxie will have to face. Taylour Paige is also starring as JJ Doherty, an investigative reporter, while Jacob Tremblay plays Winston’s son Wade, a “special kid” with some anxiety issues who has no apparent connection with his dad. Images of these characters were also unveiled.
The Toxic Avenger will have its world premiere at Fantastic Fest this month. It doesn’t yet have a wide theatrical release date.
