Behold Peter Dinklage in ‘The Toxic Avenger’

After spending over a decade in development, The Toxic Avenger reboot is finally close to arriving on the big screen. The Toxic Avenger is a modern reimagining of the 1984 B-movie cult classic that follows the tale of Melvin Ferd Junko III (Mark Torgl), a weak and bullied janitor who falls into a vat of chemicals and transforms into the monstrous Toxic Avenger (Mitch Cohen). With his newfound superhuman abilities, he begins to terrorize the criminals of his hometown in Tromaville. While some discriminate against him for his appearance and gruesome methods, others come to hail him as a hero.

The Toxic Avenger was everything one would expect from a splatter film by Troma Entertainment, the studio that kickstarted James Gunn’s career. It was gruesome, gory, and hyper-violent but also quite humorous with a touch of superhero campiness. It didn’t hold back in poking fun at the absurdity of its premise and superhero tropes, while also adding gore and violence to achieve the shock factor. As a result, the OG Toxic Avenger appealed to a wide audience, including those who genuinely enjoyed Troma’s over-the-top films as well as those intrigued by its superhero parody premise.

The Toxic Avenger was a hit, and three sequels followed. However, none achieved the success of the original film. The franchise also diverged into some weird territory as it spurred a children’s animated spinoff series, Toxic Crusaders. While there were some rumors of a fourth sequel, by 2010, the franchise started looking to refresh itself with a reboot. Over the past few years, the project switched hands a number of times before Macon Blair (Green Room, I Don’t Feel at Home in This World Anymore) took the helm as director and writer. Updates have been sparse since production finally commenced in 2021, but it recently popped back on fans’ radars with a release date and first-look image. Here’s everything we know about The Toxic Avenger remake so far.

The Toxic Avenger release window

The Toxic Avenger will have its world premiere at Fantastic Fest on September 21, 2023, where it has the honor of playing on opening night. It does not yet have a confirmed theatrical release, though there shouldn’t be too long of a wait between its world premiere and theatrical premiere.

The Toxic Avenger first look

Legendary Pictures recently released the above first-look image from The Toxic Avenger. The image shows Peter Dinklage in the role of the Toxic Avenger, carrying what appears to be his radioactive mop in hand. Understandably, Dinklage is masked in shadows, as the film likely doesn’t want to give away his final look as the Toxic Avenger just yet. However, the image certainly hints at his transformation into the mutated superhuman with his tattered clothing, mop, and streaks of glowing purple on his forehead and arm.

Legendary Pictures also released the official poster for the film:

The poster also hints at the film’s environmental themes with the caption, “A toxic world deserves a toxic hero.”

The Toxic Avenger cast

Game of Thrones actor Peter Dinklage plays the title role in The Toxic Avenger, portraying a new iteration of the hero named Winston Gooze, a “downtrodden janitor” who transforms into the heroic Toxic Avenger after an accident involving toxic waste. Child star Jacob Tremblay, best known for his award-winning role in Room, will star alongside Dinklage as Winston’s son, Wade. Zola star Taylour Paige co-stars as J. J. Doherty, though few details have been disclosed about her character.

Meanwhile, Kevin Bacon and Elijah Wood have also been cast as the film’s antagonists. Bacon will reportedly be portraying the villain Bob Garbinger, while Wood is playing a seemingly related character named Fritz Garbinger. Spencer Wilding is listed on IMDb as portraying Monster Garbinger, potentially hinting at one of the Garbingers also transforming into a superhuman. Additionally, Ted Lasso‘s Sarah Niles will star in the film as a character named Mayor Togar. She may be a new iteration of the original film’s Mayor Belgoody (Pat Ryan Jr.), who proved to be quite villainous.

Also cast in The Toxic Avenger are Julia Davis, David Yow, Julian Kostov, and Jonny Coyne. Rounding out the cast is director Blair, who plays a character named Dennis. You may have spotted Blair as the lawyer representing J. Robert Oppenheimer in Oppenheimer.

The Toxic Avenger plot

Ahead of its premiere, The Toxic Avenger received a new official synopsis that reads:

While the original film (which premiered in 1984 – almost 40 years ago!) followed the fate of Melvin Ferd Junko III (Mitch Cohen), who goes from zero to toxic hero in a case of bullying gone awry, Macon Blair’s contemporary take follows a hideously deformed creature of superhuman size and strength all his own.
Peter Dinklage stars as downtrodden janitor Winston Gooze who, after falling into a vat of toxic waste, becomes none other than The Toxic Avenger. This timely reimagining is up to its eyeballs in environmental themes as Winston goes up against the evil forces of greed and corruption to save his son, his friends, and his community.
Even as this story exists on its own terms, the spirit undoubtedly remains connected to the original. Troma fans old and new will be pleased to know that the film has been rated “R” for violence and gore – as per Troma tradition.

The official synopsis demonstrates how, as Dinklage once commented, the film isn’t meant to be a remake of the original. It follows the same overall plot, but many details have been changed besides the names, including the Toxic Avenger having a son in this iteration. While the franchise has always had an underlying environmental message, the new Toxic Avenger promises to bring this aspect to the forefront. Meanwhile, it seems some of the film’s violence and gore will make it into the reboot, as the official synopsis debunks rumors that the film was seeking a PG-13 rating. The synopsis also makes no mention of Gooze being terminally ill, a plot point highlighted in an earlier description of the film.

Overall, The Toxic Avenger reboot appears to be following the original story and spirit quite closely but examining it through a modern lens.

With an official poster, first look image, and world premiere date, hopefully an official trailer for The Toxic Avenger is forthcoming.

(featured image: Troma Entertainment)