We’ve known that Macon Blair, director of I Don’t Feel At Home in This World Anymore would reimagine cult classic The Toxic Avenger for a while now. The original movie, from house of indie gore and goofiness Troma, has remained a popular title for decades. For a mainstream studio to do the title justice, it’d have to make some powerful choices. One was casting Peter Dinklage as the titular first superhero from New Jersey. After years of waiting, The Toxic Avenger will open the upcoming 2023 Fantastic Fest in Austin, TX. And we have a first, very ominous look.
The official Fantastic Fest release describes the film thusly:
The opening night film for Fantastic Fest 2023 is the world premiere of Legendary Pictures’ THE TOXIC AVENGER, a hilarious and action-packed reimagining of the classic Troma film from director Macon Blair that features an all-star cast including Peter Dinklage who will pick up the infamous mop to become the toxic hero that no one knew they needed (or wanted) as well as Jacob Tremblay and Taylour Paige with Elijah Wood and Kevin Bacon.
In the original movie, a janitor named Melvin Junko became the Toxic Avenger. Here, the poor sod’s name is Winston Gooze, which is just *chef’s kiss* if we say so ourselves. Goo + Ooze in the same name. It’s just…it’s so good.
Other premieres at Fantastic Fest 2023 include Gareth Edwards’ The Creator, Blumhouse Television’s time-travel slasher Totally Killer, and Mike Flanagan’s The Fall of the House of Usher. (Episodes one and two, not the whole season.) We’ll also get V/H/S 85, the latest edition of the found-footage horror anthology that keeps reinventing itself. All told, the eighteenth edition of the fest will feature 29 World Premieres, 24 North American Premieres, and 18 U.S. Premieres. The fun kicks off with The Toxic Avenger on September 21 and runs until the 28th. For more information, go to Fantastic Fest’s website.
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Kyle Anderson is the Senior Editor for Nerdist. You can find his film and TV reviews here. Follow him on Instagram and Letterboxd.