Before Marvel Comics’ Deadpool, the most violent and comedic character in the “superhero genre” was Troma Films’ Toxie aka The Toxic Avenger. The character debuted in the satirical superhero movie in 1984 that focuses on the transformation of a weakling nerd janitor, Melvin, into the hulking but grotesque titular hero after being dumped into toxic waste.
A new feature film is in the works at Legendary with director Macon Blair set to reboot the character for a new generation as they’ve already assembled a cast that has Peter Dinklage (Game of Thrones, Avengers: Infinity War), Jacob Tremblay (Good Boys, The Predator, Room), and Taylour Paige (Zola, Boogie, Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom) in lead roles.
The Toxic Avenger reboot has selected an actor to play the film’s villain, as The Hollywood Reporter says they’ve hired veteran actor Kevin Bacon. He’s no stranger to genre pics after previously working on projects such as the sci-fi horror comedy Tremors, James Gunn’s Super, and Joel Schumacher’s underrated thriller Flatliners.
They also mention production begins this month in Bulgaria, a location recently used for Michael Fassbender’s Kung Fury 2.
A string of films were mature but satirical in nature taking the genre to the extreme with hyper-violent scenes including the murder of a child. Despite that, it eventually spawned a Saturday morning cartoon series, a run of comics published by Marvel Comics, and a kids toyline.
THE TOXIC AVENGER – Tromaville, New Jersey is a small American town that terrible criminals have overtaken. As the town’s corrupt mayor sits idly by, muggers, robbers, and teenage punks victimize its helpless citizens. Among the residents of Tromaville is a young man named Melvin—a nerdy, emaciated janitor who works at the local health club. That is he’s meek until a gang of thugs decide to toss the poor kid out a third story window into a vat of hazardous toxic waste. An unexpected metamorphosis takes place as the chemicals take hold of his body, and they transform him into the TOXIC AVENGER—doer of good, and brutal mauler of evil! The rest, as they say, is history as our hero sets out to single handedly wipe out the forces of evil that torment the good people of Tromaville.
SOURCE: THE HOLLYWOOD REPORTER
THE RONIN 