Back in 2010, Hot Tub Time Machine director Steve Pink was going to direct a remake of The Toxic Avenger. In 2012 John Travolta was rumored to be up for a role, then in 2013 Arnold Schwarzenegger was in talks to star. In 2016, it was Sausage Party director Conrad Vernon being brought in to helm. The point being, we’ve been hearing about the remake for a while.
This past December Legendary Entertainment acquired the feature film rights to The Toxic Avenger and made it a priority. Now they’ve found the latest name to attempt to make the movie a reality, as Macon Blair has been hired to write and direct what’s now being called a reboot.
Doomed! The Untold Story of Roger Corman’s The Fantastic Four Official Website Directed by Marty Langford Starring Roger Corman, Oley Sassoon, and Chris Gore Distributor:Uncork’d Entertainment Not Rated | 85 minutes Release Date: October 11, 2016 (VOD) | December 20, 2016 (DVD)
In 1986, German film producer Bernd Eichinger (The Neverending Story) purchased the motion picture rights to Marvel Comics’ first family of bickering cosmic superheroes, the Fantastic Four. Eichinger envisioned making a classy, big-budget adventure with funding from a major studio and the latest in cutting edge visual effects, but no studio was interested. He had until New Year’s Eve 1992 to get the film into production or his rights would revert back to Marvel.
Variety is reporting that Arnold Schwarzenegger is in talks to star in a remake of Lloyd Kaufman and Michael Herz’s 1984 cult classic, The Toxic Avenger.
For those unfamiliar with Troma Entertainment’s slice of low-budget sleaze-cheese, The Toxic Avenger tells the story of Melvin Ferd III, a 98-pound weakling who works as a janitor at a health club in Tromaville, New Jersey. A gang of beefcake bullies toss the denim-clad poindexter into a drum of toxic waste, transforming him into a hideously deformed monster of superhuman size and strength: the Toxic Avenger!
Students of the Unusual™ comic cover used with permission of 3BoysProductions
The Mercuri Bros.™ comic cover used with permission of Prodigal Son Press