Behold Peter Dinklage as “The Toxic Avenger” in First Look at his Superhero Dark Comedy
The original The Toxic Avenger (1984), about a “meek mop boy” named Melvin who falls into a vat of toxic waste and becomes the titular mutant superhero, has been reimagined by the talented actor/director Macon Blair. And Blair did something very wise—he enlisted Peter Dinklage to play the Toxic Avenger, and now we’ve got our first look at him. Legendary Entertainment has revealed this glimpse of Dinklage’s hazardous hero ahead of the film’s world premiere at Fantastic Fest 2023 in Austin, Texas, which runs from September 21 to 28 at the Alamo Drafthouse.
Sure, we don’t see that much of Dinklage’s Winston Gooze, but we’re pretty sure that glowing weapon in his hand was once a mop. Winston starts the film as a depressed janitor at a health club whose life takes a turn for the worse when he’s diagnosed with a terminal illness. Winston hatches a plan to rob his employer to pay for treatment, but the poor sap tumbles into a vat of toxic waste instead. A new kind of hero is born from that radioactive sludge, as the Toxic Avenger (aka Toxie) emerges from the vat, and he’s not messing around.
Joining Dinklage are Jacob Tremblay as his son, Wade, Kevin Bacon as Bob Garbinger, Elijah Wood as Fritz Garbinger, Taylour Paige as J.J. Doherty, Julia Davis as Kissy Sturnevan, and Macon Blair as Dennis.
The original 1984 film generated three sequels and became an iconic franchise in the splatter film genre. An initial reboot was announced way back in 2010, but it wasn’t until Legendary won the rights for the franchise in 2019 and Blair was named director in 2020 that things began really moving. Now, The Toxic Avenger is finally ready to mark his radioactive return. The wider release date for the film hasn’t been announced yet.
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Featured image: Peter Dinklage is “The Toxic Avenger.” Courtesy Legendary Entertainment.
