Credit: Warner Bros.If you grew up in the 1980s or loved B-level horror movies, you may have been introduced at some point to The Toxic Avenger movies. The highly violent and black comedy films became cult classics, and the franchise is now being rebooted. The reboot has been under wraps for quite some time, but the first look at stars Peter Dinklage, Elijah Wood, and Kevin Bacon.
Related: ‘Game of Thrones’ Star, Peter Dinklage, Revealed as Next Avenger
The Toxic Avenger began in 1984 by Lloyd Kaufman, whose creation would lead to three sequel films, a stage musical, a comic series from Marvel, a video game, and a TV series. The original films contained plenty of B-movie violence and campy humor, which became the central focus of Troma Productions.
Though Kaufman is serving as a producer for the upcoming reboot, the new take on the classic horror superhero is being helmed by writer and director Macon Blair.
Blair released many more details about the upcoming reboot to Entertainment Weekly, along with the publication releasing official images of Peter Dinklage, Elijah Wood, and Kevin Bacon.
‘The Toxic Avenger’ Reboot Releases Official Images
Per @EW
EW has your first look at #TheToxicAvenger, Macon Blair’s reimagining of the 1984 cult classic. bit.ly/48qmH87
EW has your first look at #TheToxicAvenger, Macon Blair's reimagining of the 1984 cult classic. ➡️ https://t.co/LLy1pnt7Mg
📷: Legendary Pictures (4) pic.twitter.com/19ojjsOuOa
— Entertainment Weekly (@EW) September 20, 2023
The initial image shared from The Toxic Avenger reboot was the silhouette of Peter Dinklage, presumably transformed as the titular hero. The original story follows Melvin Ferd (Mitch Cohen) as a janitor who is not brave and is mostly picked on. Ferd falls into a vat of toxic waste, transforming into a hero called The Toxic Avenger (Toxie), who wields a mop as his weapon.
The silhouette image initially shared from the new reboot showcases a similar story of Dinklage, portraying a new character named Winston Gooze. While Gooze might have a similar story of falling into chemicals, transforming him into the disfigured hero, he is a low-level employee at a chemical factory. Macon Blair offered up more details about Gooze’s journey to becoming a 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 sets him on a path of being an unlikely vigilante in this downward-spiraling society.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.”
Though we have not yet seen Peter Dinklage as the twisted hero, the above image showcases what Gooze looks like initially. He is sporting a tutu and bandit mask, which leads us to believe he could end up in trouble before he is transformed forever.
Elijah Wood is also starring in the film as Fritz Garbinger, a villain who is comprised of combining two previous horror characters. Blair revealed the inspiration behind Wood’s huge transformation. Blair added:
“Sort of Riff Raff from The Rocky Horror Picture Show and the Danny DeVito Penguin mixed together.”
We can see the resemblance in the above image, as Wood has strands of hair peaking from the top and sides of his head. He also has blackened eyes and gritty teeth, much like DeVito did as the penguin.
Peter Dinklage and Elijah Wood aren’t the only considerable stars in the film, as Kevin Bacon will also join them as Bob Garbinger, the brother of Wood’s villainous character. While Wood’s character is more of the weird runt of the family, Bacon’s Bob character is more of the Lex Luthor type.
Legendary Pictures is producing the film, and they must have seen enough to want to move forward with the project. Though the original Toxic Avengers films were overtly violent and cheesy, we believe this reimagining will do something far different. Should the new reboot impress audiences, we could see a new franchise again take hold.
Marvel might even reach out to include Toxie in their upcoming comic plans, though we are unsure how he would fit into the MCU. We are excited to see what this new reboot will offer.
Related: ‘John Wick’ Star Blocked from Mega Franchise Reboot
The Toxic Avenger will officially debut at Austin’s Fantastic Fest, which takes place between September 21-28. We hope that a trailer will follow, which will also reveal an official theater release date.
What do you think of The Toxic Avenger reboot? Let Inside the Magic know in the comments down below!