Legendary’s ‘Toxic Avenger’ Reboot Wraps Filming & ‘Fargo’ Cinematographer Dana Gonzalez Confirmed

Legendary finally has made their Toxic Avenger film reboot after ages of development.

The Toxic Avenger was essentially Deadpool before the mutant merc-with-a-mouth was ever a notion at Marvel Comics. The hyper-violent comic book hero parody debuted in 1984 and suddenly became a cult hit with multiple sequels, landing a short-lived comic book published by Marvel, the Toxic Crusaders cartoon, and a kids toyline connected to the show.

This is the story of Melvin, the Tromaville Health Club mop boy, who inadvertently and naively trusts the hedonistic, contemptuous and vain health club members, to the point of accidentally ending up in a vat of toxic waste. The devastating results then have a transmogrification effect, his alter ego is released, and the Toxic Avenger is born, to deadly and comical results. The local mop boy is now the local Superhero, the saviour of corruption, thuggish bullies and indifference. 

The cast consts of Peter Dinklage (Avengers: Infinity War, X-Men: Days of Future Past, Game of Thrones) as Toxie, Jacob Tremblay (The Predator, Room, Good Boys), Elijah Wood (Lord of The Rings Trilogy), Taylour Paige (Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom, White Boy Rick), Jonny Coyne Sarah Niles, and the villain will be played by Kevin Bacon (Flatliners, Tremors, Super).

Writer/director Macon Blair has announced on Twitter that production on the Toxic Avenger has wrapped in Bulgaria. Blair’s last film was the comedy thriller I Don’t Feel At Home In This World Anymore and is a longtime actor collaborator with director Jeremy Saulnier (Blue Ruin, Green Room).

The Ronin has been able to confirm that the film’s cinematographer is indeed Dana Gonzalez, who is known for shooting Noah Hawley shows such as Legion and Fargo. He was the director of photography on the Gerard Butler disaster film Greenland.

A release date for Toxic Avenger has yet to be announced as the action comedy doesn’t officially have a distributor. I wouldn’t be terribly shocked if Netflix attempts to secure the global rights to it as they’re developing various projects together including an upcoming live-action Gundam film from director Jordan Vogt-Roberts (Kong: Skull Island, Metal Gear Solid).

‘Toxic Avenger’: Legendary’s Bonkers Superhero Remake Adds Elijah Wood, Julia Davis, Jonny Coyne & Sarah Niles

The Toxic Avenger was essentially Deadpool before the mutant was ever a notion at Marvel Comics, the hyper-violent comic book hero parody debuted in 1984 and suddenly became a cult hit with multiple sequels, landing a short-lived comic book published by Marvel, the Toxic Crusaders cartoon, and a kids toyline connected to the show.

A feature film remake has been in the works for ages but finally got going when Legendary Entertainment assigned Macon Blair to write and direct the latest incarnation.

This is the story of Melvin, the Tromaville Health Club mop boy, who inadvertently and naively trusts the hedonistic, contemptuous and vain health club members, to the point of accidentally ending up in a vat of toxic waste. The devastating results then have a transmogrification effect, his alter ego is released, and the Toxic Avenger is born, to deadly and comical results. The local mop boy is now the local Superhero, the saviour of corruption, thuggish bullies and indifference. 

Deadline has recently backed-up The Illuminerdi‘s report that Lord of The Rings star Elijah Wood has joined the satirical superhero film and added that British comedian Julia Davis. The Hollywood Reporter also revealing that Jonny Coyne and Sarah Niles are taking parts too.

Wood and Blair have previously worked together on the Netflix dark comedy I Don’t Feel At Home In This World Anymore.

They’ll join an established cast that already has Peter Dinklage as Toxie, Jacob Tremblay, Taylour Paige, and the villain will be played by Kevin Bacon.

Legendary will shoot The Toxic Avenger in Bulgaria but hasn’t officially announced a release date. I’ll be slightly curious to see if the project will get a traditional theatrical release or be sold-off to a streaming service like Netflix as they recently struck a deal for Jordan Vogt-Roberts’ Gundam movie.

SOURCE: DEADLINE & THE HOLLYWOOD REPORTER

Legendary’s ‘Toxic Avenger’ Enlists Kevin Bacon As The Villain In The Superhero Satire; Filming Begins This Month In Bulgaria

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