Legendary Entertainment has tasked Macon Blair to write and direct a reboot of the Troma Entertainment satirical superhero character “The Toxic Avenger,” the Lylod Kaufman-led studio that helped launch the career of director James Gunn (“The Suicide Squad,” “The Guardians of The Galaxy“) and is known for cheaply-made shock genre filmmaking.
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Originally released in 1984, the superhero parody film focused on a scrawny janitor named Melvin, who is thrown into a batch of radioactive toxic sludge by a group of bullies only to be transformed into the hulking disfigured tutu-wearing vigilante brute known as the Toxic Avenger.
A report from Deadline has revealed that “Lord of The Rings” star and Macon Blair’s lead actor from his film “I Don’t Feel At Home In This World Anymore,” Elijah Wood, has taken a role alongside “Phantom Thread‘s” Julia Davis. Davis is primarily known as a British comedian which means she’s an excellent choice for a comedic project of this type.
The pair are joining a cast that already consists of Emmy-winner Peter Dinklage (“I Care A Lot,” “Game of Thrones“) as the titular hero, Jacob Tremblay (“The Predator,” “Room,” “Good Boys“), Taylour Paige (“Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom,” Zola“), and veteran actor Kevin Bacon (“Tremors“) will play the film’s villain as mentioned previously by The Hollywood Reporter.
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Bacon has some experience with this genre after working with Troma alum James Gunn on his very own superhero parody “Super” starring Rainn Wilson and Elliot Page. Elijah Wood joining the “Toxic Avenger” cast was first reported by The Illuminerdi.
Filming is said to be taking place in Bulgaria.
The “Toxic Avenger” films are well known for the outlandish satirical world they take place in and the hyper-violence that is mostly done for comedic effect. For whatever reason, the franchise went from a sleazy drive-in/VHS rental craze to being marketed towards children with a cartoon series, a toyline, and a comic book published Marvel Comics. It’ll be interesting to see how Legendary ultimately markets the film and if “Toxic Avenger” will get a theatrical release or head directly to a streaming service.
