It's been eight years since we first heard that a remake of the 1984 Troma classic THE TOXIC AVENGER was in the works. Over the years, the project has passed through the hands of HOT TUB TIME MACHINE director Steve Pink and SAUSAGE PARTY director Conrad Vernon. Pink wrote a screenplay with Daniel C. Mitchell that was then rewritten by Archer's Mike Arnold and Chris Poole. Arnold Schwarzenegger was offered a role. John Travolta was rumored for another. Kevin Smith was offered the chance to direct the film and declined because he felt a studio remake would stray too far away from Toxie's low budget indie roots.
Now it looks like the remake endeavor is starting over with a clean slate, as Legendary Entertainment – the company behind the "MonsterVerse" GODZILLA and KONG films – has now acquired the rights to make a new version of THE TOXIC AVENGER.
Troma founders / original TOXIC AVENGER co-directors Lloyd Kaufman and Michael Herz will be producing the remake, with Alex Garcia and Jay Ashenfelter overseeing the project for Legendary.
Last year I wrote the following synopsis of THE TOXIC AVENGER for a special screening that was held at the Sidewalk Film Festival in Birmingham, Alabama:
Justice is served and guts are spilled when a put-upon health spa custodian is doused in toxic chemicals, rising as an inhumanly strong, hideously deformed hero with a natural instinct to fight crime. From thrill killers to corrupt politicians, no evil-doer is safe when the Toxic Avenger sets out to clean up the streets of Tromaville, New Jersey.
The previous iteration of the remake didn't seem to be on a promising track, so I hope things will go better at Legendary. Regardless of what happens with the remake, I'm just glad some money is going into the pockets of Kaufman and Herz. Maybe this way Troma will finally be able to continue the original franchise with the long-delayed TOXIC AVENGER 5.