Summary
Studios usually want to shout from the rooftops when they’ve gotten their hands on a superhero reboot starring an A-lister in the leading role. Alas, we live in strange times and this simply hasn’t been the case forThe Toxic Avenger.
Legendary Picturesand Troma Entertainment’s pitch is simple: Ever been the butt of all jokes? Pushed around and insulted? Pantsed in the hallway, or tripped in class? There’s a solution to these problems… nuclear waste! Just fall into a barrel and become superhuman, like gym janitor Melvin Junko did in the ‘84 superhero spoofThe Toxic Avenger. So long as appearances, money, stability, romance, and friends don’t matter, life post-nuclear-waste-soaking is undoubtedly an upgrade! Just ask fellow modern-day janitor Wintson Gooze (Peter Dinklage), the franchise’s next victim (hero?) in the film series’ upcoming reboot, faithfully namedThe Toxic Avenger.
After years of production issues that led to a near-shelving of the entire project,The Toxic Avengerhas finally dropped a concrete update viaEntertainment Weekly. Fans have waited since 2010 whenThe Toxic Avengerreboot was initially announced with the promise of a more family-friendly approach. Since then, other bouts of production hell have risen, fromArnold Schwarzenegger being a potential star—eventually declining in favor ofTerminator: Genisys—to various directors coming and going before the current director, Macon Blair, was hired in 2019. Once production finally wrapped by 2023, however, no one wanted to acquire the film’s distribution rights because the reboot was deemed unreleasable thanks to excessive gore and violence. This new announcement will ease any doubtful fan’s hearts.
He’s Not One Of Your Marvel Studios' Avengers…
For those willing to wait just a bit longer,The Toxic Avengerhas announced an August 29th, 2025 release date distributed by Cineverse, dropped alongside a new teaser poster and viewers' first look atPeter Dinklage’s full get-outas the titular hero—and he’s a lot greener than in the ’80s original. Fears thatThe Toxic Avenger’s shelving would lead to a situation mirroring DC’s recentBatgirltax write-off have abated and fans will get to see their favorite bubbly-skinned crime-stopper in the not-too-distant future. The announcement comes a little out of the blue, as no other word aside fromThe Toxic Avenger’s distribution rights issues has arisen until now. “A surprise, to be sure, but a welcome one,” a senator named Sheev Palpatine once said in a galaxy far, far away. WithThe Toxic Avenger’s fate turned around in a single poster drop, this is definitely a welcome surprise.
Fans have been treated to equal parts hope and alarm in the buildup toThe Toxic Avenger’s latest outing. From the initial tone change announced in 2010 to its various production and distribution issues,it’s time for Legendary Pictures, Troma Entertainment, and director Macon Blair to finally deliver one of the few withheld cinematic projects to holda fresh Rotten Tomatoes scoreages before its release.
