The Toxic Avenger (2023 film)

The Toxic Avenger is a 2023 American superhero black comedy film written and directed by Macon Blair. It is the fifth installment in The Toxic Avenger film series. The film is produced by Lloyd Kaufman and Michael Herz, who also produced the previous films in the series. It stars Peter Dinklage as the title character, alongside Jacob Tremblay, Taylour Paige, Kevin Bacon, Sarah Niles, Julia Davis, Julian Kostov, and Elijah Wood. The film premiered as the opening film of Fantastic Fest on September 21, 2023.

Premise
"Set in a fantasy world following Winston, a stereotypical weakling who works as a janitor at Garb-X health club and is diagnosed with a terminal illness that can only be cured by an expensive treatment that his greedy, power hungry employer refuses to pay for. After deciding to take matters into his own hands and rob his company, Winston falls into a pit of toxic waste and is transformed into a deformed monster that sets out to do good and get back at all the people who have wronged him."

Cast

 * Peter Dinklage as Winston Gooze / The Toxic Avenger
 * Jacob Tremblay as Wade
 * Taylour Paige as J.J. Doherty
 * Kevin Bacon as Bob Garbinger
 * Sarah Niles as Mayor Togar
 * Julia Davis as Kissy Sturnevan
 * Julian Kostov as Budd Berserk
 * Elijah Wood as Fritz Garbinger
 * David Yow as Guthrie Stockins
 * Macon Blair as Dennis
 * Jonny Coyne as Thad Barkabus
 * Jane Levy as Cheerful Insurance Rep (voice)
 * Rebecca O'Mara as Shelly Gooze

Development
On April 6, 2010, a remake of The Toxic Avenger (1984) was announced. The remake, said to be aiming for a "family-friendly" PG-13 release similar to the animated Toxic Crusaders television series, was set to be co-written and directed by Steve Pink.

On September 12, 2016, Variety reported that Conrad Vernon will direct the film, with Guillermo del Toro of Double Dare You, Bob Cooper and Alex Schwartz of Storyscape Entertainment, and Akiva Goldsman and Greg Lessans of Weed Road Pictures executive producing, while Mike Arnold and Chris Poole were attached to rewrite the screenplay by Pink and Daniel C. Mitchell.

On December 10, 2018, it was announced that Legendary Pictures had won the rights to reboot The Toxic Avenger, with the original's producers, Lloyd Kaufman and Michael Herz of Troma Entertainment, to serve as producers. On March 21, 2019, Macon Blair was announced to write and direct the upcoming film. During an interview with on January 11, 2021, Kaufman praised Blair and his script saying: "Macon Blair knows Troma better than I do. He's seen everything. He's seen the cartoon [Toxic Crusaders], he's seen the Halloween special, he's seen everything. And he loves our movies... I've read the script and it's better than the original and I leave it to him. If I'm called upon, I'd be happy to jump in. I learned on the musical to leave the creative to the creative. I learned to let them ask so if they want me, I'm there... I hope that Legendary keeps going. If they let Macon Blair direct it, I think it will be terrific. He knows the Troma sense of humor, the combination of slapstick, and satire with the environmental theme."

Casting
On May 13, 2013, Arnold Schwarzenegger was in talks for a role in the film. He eventually dropped out to work on Terminator Genisys (2015). On November 30, 2020, it was announced that Peter Dinklage would star in the film. In April 14, 2021, Jacob Tremblay and Taylour Paige were added to the cast. In June 11, 2021, Kevin Bacon, Julia Davis, and Elijah Wood joined the cast.

Filming
Principal photography commenced on June 21, 2021 in Bulgaria and wrapped on August 14, 2021.

Post-production
In December 2021, Dinklage stated the film is "not a remake". On January 30, 2022, Blair confirmed the film will employ practical gore effects, and the time period setting will be a "little bit of both" in the past and present.

Release
The Toxic Avenger premiered as the opening film of Fantastic Fest on September 21, 2023. The film also played at Beyond Fest on September 30, 2023, before having its international debut at the 56th Sitges Film Festival in October 2023.