Toxic Avenger Has its World Premiere at Fantastic Fest (2023)

King Toxie himself, filmmaker Lloyd Kaufman, announced on his Instagram that Macon Blair’s remake of The Toxic Avenger will have its World Premiere during Fantastic Fest in Austin, Texas, which runs from September 21 though 28, 2023. Organizers of the event have yet to post the full schedule, but my feeling is, this will be one of the more popular screenings during the festival. I have a personal fondness for the original Toxic Avenger, as it was shot in my home state of New Jersey and I have mad respect for anyone who bucks established systems to get projects done. While the remake is far from independent (Legendary is created as the production company and it has big stars like Kevin Bacon, Peter Dinklage and Elijah Wood), I’m looking forward to seeing where they take the material.

Along with Bacon, Dinklage and Wood, The Toxic Avenger also stars Jacob Tremblay, Macon Blair, Jane Levy, Julian Kostov, Sarah Niles, Julia Davis, Taylour Paige, Spencer Wilding, Jonny Coyne, Lee Eddy, David Yow, Rebecca O’Mara, Owen Davis, Brent Werzner, Atanas Srebrev, Abraham Lewis, Byron Brown, Max Kraus and JR Esposito.

From the Fantastic Fest website: A horrible toxic accident transforms downtrodden janitor Winston Gooze into a new evolution of hero: The Toxic Avenger. Now wielding a glowing mop with super-human strength, he must race against time to save his son and stop a ruthless and power-hungry tyrant bent on harnessing toxic superpowers to strengthen his polluted empire.

The original cult classic The Toxic Avenger spawned three sequels – The Toxic Avenger Part II, The Toxic Avenger Part III: The Last Temptation of Toxie and The Toxic Avenger IV: Citizen Toxie – along with a 1990 animated children’s TV series spin-off called Toxic Crusaders, a musical stage production, and a Marvel comic book series.