# The Toxic Avenger (2023 film)

The Toxic Avenger is a 2023 American superhero black comedy splatter film written and directed by Macon Blair. It is the fifth installment in and a reboot of The Toxic Avenger film series. The film stars Peter Dinklage as the title character, alongside Jacob Tremblay, Taylour Paige, Julia Davis, Jonny Coyne, Elijah Wood, and Kevin Bacon.
The Toxic Avenger premiered as the opening film of Fantastic Fest on September 21, 2023, with a wider theatrical release planned by Cineverse in the United States for August 29, 2025.

## Premise

Set in a fantasy world following janitor Winston Gooze who, after a freak accident, transforms into a mutant vigilante known as Toxie. Armed with his mop, the unlikely hero battles freaks, gangsters and corrupt CEOs while trying to save his relationship with his son.

## Cast

* Peter Dinklage as Winston Gooze / The Toxic Avenger
* Jacob Tremblay as Wade Gooze
* Taylour Paige as J.J. Doherty
* Kevin Bacon as Bob Garbinger
* Elijah Wood as Fritz Garbinger
* Sarah Niles as Mayor Togar
* Julia Davis as Kissy Sturnevan
* Julian Kostov as Budd Berserk
* David Yow as Guthrie Stockins
* Macon Blair as Dennis
* Jonny Coyne as Thad Barkabus
* Jane Levy as Cheerful Insurance Rep (voice)
* Rebecca O'Mara as Shelly Gooze

## Production

In April 2010, a remake of The Toxic Avenger (1984) was announced. The remake, said to be aiming for a "family-friendly" PG-13 release similar to the animated Toxic Crusaders television series, was set to be co-written and directed by Steve Pink. In May 2013, Arnold Schwarzenegger was in talks for a role in the film. He eventually dropped out to work on Terminator Genisys (2015).
In September 2016, reports indicated that Conrad Vernon would direct the film, with Guillermo del Toro of Double Dare You, Bob Cooper and Alex Schwartz of Storyscape Entertainment, and Akiva Goldsman and Greg Lessans of Weed Road Pictures executive producing, while Mike Arnold and Chris Poole were attached to rewrite the screenplay by Pink and Daniel C. Mitchell. In December 2018, Legendary Pictures won the rights to reboot The Toxic Avenger, with the original's producers, Lloyd Kaufman and Michael Herz of Troma Entertainment, returning. In March 2019, Macon Blair was announced to write and direct. Of the script, Kaufman said, "Macon Blair knows Troma better than I do. He's seen everything. He's seen the cartoon [Toxic Crusaders], he's seen the Halloween special, he's seen everything. And he loves our movies... I've read the script and it's better than the original and I leave it to him. If I'm called upon, I'd be happy to jump in. I learned on the musical to leave the creative to the creative. I learned to let them ask so if they want me, I'm there... I hope that Legendary keeps going. If they let Macon Blair direct it, I think it will be terrific. He knows the Troma sense of humor, the combination of slapstick, and satire with the environmental theme.
In November 2020, Peter Dinklage came on board to star. Additional cast members were revealed from April to June 2021. Principal photography commenced on June 21, 2021 in Bulgaria and wrapped on August 14, 2021. In December 2021, Dinklage said the film was "not a remake". In January 2022, Blair confirmed the film will employ practical gore effects, and the time period setting will be a "little bit of both" in the past and present.

## Release

The Toxic Avenger premiered as the opening film of Fantastic Fest on September 21, 2023. The film also played at Beyond Fest on September 30, 2023, before having its international debut at the 56th Sitges Film Festival, as part of the Out of Competition section, on October 13, 2023.
In July 2024, it was reported that the reason for the film being unreleased for wider audiences was due to ongoing difficulties in securing a distributor. It has been described as "unreleasable" due to its gore and graphic content. Filmmaker and producer Adam Masnyk stated on X that no distributors have come forward, citing concerns that it is "not safe enough to market," and suggesting it could potentially become lost media. However, in January 2025, it was announced that Cineverse had acquired the distribution rights to the film, with plans to release it theatrically later that year; that same month, the company scheduled it for release in the United States on August 29, 2025.

## Reception

On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 92% of 25 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 7.0/10. The website's consensus reads: "Like the original, The Toxic Avenger isn't for everyone – but viewers seeking an extremely gory, extremely silly good time won't be disappointed." Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the film a score of 66 out of 100, based on 4 critics, indicating "generally favorable" reviews.