He’s mean, he’s green, and in just under two months, he’s coming to the big screen. Nearly two years since it made its debut as the opening film of Fantastic Fest,Macon Blair’s hotly anticipatedThe Toxic Avengerremake starringGame of ThronesfavoritePeter Dinklageis finally almost here, and a new Red Band trailer is celebrating the blood and guts the mop-wielding hero is about to spill. The gory superhero horror comedy based on the 1984 Troma film byLloyd Kaufmanfacedan uphill battle to find a distributorbecause of its over-the-top graphic content, but it’s that same level of violence and adherence to the ideas that made the original a cult classic that drew Cineverse to it in the first place. This new look relishes the viscera viewers will soon see in theaters while also teasing the surprisingly heartfelt story of the perpetually unfortunate Winston Gooze.
Blair’sToxic Avengertakesa slightly different approach to its storythan the original, which followed Melvin Ferd Junko III, an oft-bullied worker at a health club who was “98 pounds of solid nerd” until falling into a vat of toxic waste and becoming the titular superpowered mutant. Like Melvin, Dinklage’s Gooze is a janitor, though he’s dealing with his own problems. He’s suffering from a terminal illness that requires expensive medication to manage, but hissoulless corporate ghoul of a boss, Bob Garbinger (Kevin Bacon), refuses to insure his longtime employee. When he tries to rob his company to get the money he needs, a freak accidenttransforms him into the mutant vigilante Toxie. Armed with his mop, he becomes an unlikely hero by violently cleaning up the corrupt CEOs, gangsters, and other criminals ruining his town.
As shown in the trailer, the more character-driven story won’t take away from the silly and violent nature of the remake, withjaws popping off, heads exploding, and throats getting ripped out. There was no chance of Toxie holding back on the gore so long as Blair was involved. In an interview with Collider’sPerri Nemiroffback in 2023, the director recalled feeling like he’d be told no at some point in his pitch for the character’s return, but he found Legendary Pictures to bevery open to his Troma-accurate ideas, blood, guts, and all.
“And I kept saying,‘It’s gotta be R. It’s gotta be a dude in a suit. It’s gotta be silly and ridiculous and purposefully juvenile,‘and they kept going, ‘Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.’ And at a certain point, it was like, ‘Okay, well, I’m just going to write this goddamn thing, and we’ll see what happens,’ and here we are.”
Cineverse Is the Perfect Partner To Bring ‘The Toxic Avenger’ to Theaters
Cineverse coming to the rescue ofThe Toxic Avengermakes perfect sense given their willingness to embrace boundary-pushing horror. They previously helped getDamien Leone’sblood-soaked Christmas-themed threequel,Terrifier 3, into theaters with help from Iconic Events. This will be one of their biggest and most star-studded projects to date, featuring a killer supporting cast around Dinklage and Bacon, includingJacob Tremblayas Winston’s dear son Wade, alongsideElijah Wood,Taylour Paige,Sarah Niles, andJane Levy, among others. Reviews so far have been glowing, with the film boasting a 92% score onRotten Tomatoesand a recommendation fromSuitable FleshdirectorJoe Lynch. Despite being unrated and initially struggling to find a home, Toxiemay just be a summer hitwhen he finally graces the big screen.
The Toxic Avengerremake oozes into theaters on August 29. Check out the new trailer in the player above.
The Toxic Avenger
