With the original Toxic Avenger creator’s blessing, Macon Blair has brought the cult franchise back from its noxious cinematic dumping grounds.
The writer and director of the reboot told Deadline that his love for the franchise “started in 7th grade,” explaining how it “snowballed” into being passed the mop to refresh The Toxic Avenger for a new generation, now in theaters.
“We loved it,” recalled Blair of discovering the ’84 cult classic with his friends. “We were making movies on our own at that time and it was a big inspiration in that way. I wouldn’t say that I came away from that like, ‘One day, I’m going to remake Toxic Avenger.’ That never occurred to me, but many years later, Legendary gets the rights to partner with Troma to do a new version of it, and they were soliciting pitches to write it, and they asked me to solicit, and it just occurred to me. I was like, ‘Man, this could be like going back to make a movie with my buddies in the 7th grade, but with the machinery of a Hollywood studio around it.’”
In Blair’s The Toxic Avenger, BTH janitor Winston Gooze (Peter Dinklage) gets a terminal diagnosis shortly before an accident at the company’s chemical plant turns him into the titular grotesque vigilante. With his newfound powers, Toxie takes on the corrupt corporation that
Lloyd Kaufman, who created the franchise 1984 with the original cult classic, praised Blair’s reboot as “a beautiful masterpiece” after entrusting him with Toxie.
“It’s all Macon Blair. He and the cast, all the people in the cast, the stars, they have drilled down deep into the Troma ouvré,” he said.
Following the original, which premiered a decade after Kaufman and co-director Michael Herz launched Troma Entertainment in 1974, the duo went on to helm The Toxic Avenger Part II and The Toxic Avenger Part III: The Last Temptation of Toxie (both 1989), before Kaufman returned to direct Citizen Toxie: The Toxic Avenger IV in 2000. The franchise also spawned the 1991 children’s cartoon series Toxic Crusaders, as well as a video game, a stage musical and multiple other offshoots over the years.
This time, Kaufman said, “I gave notes, and I met with Macon a few times, but it’s his movie. I gave him notes and he cleverly, smart guy, ignored them all, and he made his own movie, but we believe in that.”
“We are very much proud of Macon because his heart, his soul and his brain are in that movie,” he added. “It’s an auteur film, and I think, in the fullness of time, it’s going to be up there with the great genre movies.”
With a blend of some modern movie magic and classic practical effects, Dinklage leads the cast as Toxie, with some memorable supporting performances from Kevin Bacon, Elijah Wood, Taylour Paige, Jacob Tremblay and more.
Read on about Macon Blair’s experience rebooting the Toxic Avenger franchise and what he has in mind for a potential sequel.
DEADLINE: Tell me how you first discovered the original and how you came to reboot the franchise.
Macon Blair: It was a strange course of events. The original, like a lot of people, I discovered it mid to late 80s and I just saw it on videotape. My buddy’s older brother was like, “You gotta check this one out. This is fucking weird.” And we loved it, and it was. We were making movies on our own at that time and it was a big inspiration in that way. I wouldn’t say that I came away from that like, “One day, I’m going to remake Toxic Avenger.” That never occurred to me, but many years later, Legendary gets the rights to partner with Troma to do a new version of it, and they were soliciting pitches to write it, and they asked me to solicit, and it just occurred to me. I was like, “Man, this could be like going back to make a movie with my buddies in the 7th grade, but with the machinery of a Hollywood studio around it.” And there was something that was so hilarious about that to me that I went in and pitched and kind of said a version of that. I was like, “When I was 13 years old, this was a very formative movie for me, and part of the intention here would be to preserve the vibe of seeing that kind of movie.” It’s not the plot necessarily. I mean, you know you’re gonna have toxic waste and a mop and certain things, but it’s the vibe of that original that I was suggesting we try to sort of carry forward and it turns out they were receptive to that, and then that sort of snowballed into a directing job. So it was this funny thing that started in 7th grade and then kind of snowballed into this.
DEADLINE: That’s awesome. And it’s so cool to see a cult classic revived on such a massive scale, it was really fun to watch. Tell me about updating the story, cause there really is a timeless relevance to the little guy taking on the man, but I also really appreciated how this one specifically went after the healthcare system and stuff like that.
Blair: Yeah, I mean, I wrote it in 2019 and then we shot it in 2021 and it sort of it does feel like it, in some ways, it gets progressively more sort of relevant, but then also, if you step back from that, it’s kind of unfortunately always relevant, a story where wealthy, powerful corporations get away with whatever they want to at the expense of people that don’t have access to power. It’s sort of like, 20 years ago, 100 years ago, it’s sort of like it’s never out of style, unfortunately, and so this is a movie about a mutant that’s hitting people with a mop. So, it’s not like a thoughtful articulate analysis of any kind of issue or problem. It’s a fantasy, and I think there’s something, for me, cathartic where, “Wouldn’t it be nice if just hitting the right person with a mop would correct these problems?” It’s obviously not that simple, but I think there’s an escapist entertainment value in that kind of thing. But really, I knew he was gonna fight some version of gangs or tough guys or cackling weirdos, like that’s part of the fun, but I just wanted to make the overall villain that he was up against a kind of systemic thing, which was only because I wanted to make the villain that he has to oppose the most powerful villain possible, and so that’s bigger than a street gang, that’s bigger than a bad guy with a super weapon. It’s kind of a system of doing things and that was just a dramatic choice, and if it feels particularly relevant then.
DEADLINE: And what was it like working with Peter Dinklage on creating a new version of Toxie?
Blair: It was a lot of fun. I’m very fond of him. We have similar senses of humor, and I had met him a couple of years before, and so we hadn’t really worked together, but we sort of stayed in touch, and we would read scripts that each other were working on… I did not know, for some reason, that he was from New Jersey, and so when it occurred to me, I thought he would be an interesting choice to play this guy and get the audience on his side at the first 30 minutes of the movie before he sort of disappears into monster makeup. So, I sent him the script and it turns out he was like, “I love the original, I’m from New Jersey. You don’t have to translate.” He got the tone, cause you could read the script and if you didn’t know the original, you’re kind of like, “Is this stupid on purpose? What is this?” He was like, “I get it, no need to explain.” And he was into it from the get-go, so he was a lot of fun to work with and sort of got the joke.
DEADLINE: And I was curious, since the movie is all new characters, is there any chance that maybe you’ll do a sequel that will cross over with the original or anything like that?
Blair: I would love that, and honestly, I had the idea that—it wouldn’t really be the same characters, but we shot this during the height of COVID in Bulgaria, so traveling people was this whole thing. I did have a scene in there where I wanted people like Mark Torgl [who played Melvin before he turns into Toxie in the OG] and to kind of appear as citizens, so not their original characters. But that’s more of an Easter egg thing than what you’re talking about, like the same characters. That would be very cool. I would love to do that, and I had been sort of thinking about if somebody were to ask me, what would be cool for adventures to go on with Toxie, but I think we have to see how this one lands first and see if anybody has an appetite for that and see what happens. But to answer your question, I would love it if that were the case.
DEADLINE: Yeah, I would definitely love to see another one. I feel like the culture right now is very primed for this.
Blair: Yeah, I mean, hopefully it lands. If it does, and there’s an appetite for more, I would love to do that.
DEADLINE: What was the most fun part of all of the gore and the makeup and like the practical effects that you got to use?
Blair: That was a big part of it, because I talked about us being in 7th grade, and when we were making those movies, things like scripts and editing and all of that came way later. The first thing we were interested in was how to do the makeup and how to do squibs and gore and burns and stuff. So, this was like being a kid in a candy shop to get to see all this stuff. And for me, my favorite one, because there was so much interaction with it, and because it sort of went beyond just being an effect and really became a character with the toxic makeup, which was partially makeup. There were motors around his eyes, so there was a guy doing the remote control for his eyebrow. There’s Luisa [Guerreiro] inside the suit, and then later on, there’s Peter dubbing his voice over, so it was like this many people contributing to this one character’s coming to life, or whatever you want to call it. That was a lot of fun, but I think that my favorite sort of singular shot was when the guy got his intestines pulled out, Toxie pulled his intestines out of his butt. I’m a man of simple pleasures. I thought that shit was delightful. That’s all I needed. I was like, “I’m good.” That was gold.
DEADLINE: I loved seeing Elijah Wood in this cause I also loved I Don’t Feel at Home in This World Anymore, and I saw that Jane Levy also had a voice cameo, so that’s cool. And I’m curious because it’s my favorite show, have you watched Yellowjackets?
Blair: Yeah, Yellowjackets is amazing, and if there were a way that I could have gotten Melanie [Lynskey] in this movie, I would have tried to do that too. But maybe she’s the villain in part two or something like that. I don’t know.
DEADLINE: She was a pretty good villain in The Last of Us. I can see that.
Blair: She’s great, and that’s why, even if it’s a voice role for Jane, I just, whenever possible, when I work with people and have a great time, I love to continue working with them, and I try to keep my eyes open for ways to sort of bring them back in. So, the role for Elijah, I wrote with him in mind. I didn’t know if he would be available or if it would work out, but that was written specifically for him, and so, I try to sort of bring people back whenever I can.
DEADLINE: That’s awesome. Well, he was a really fun to watch in that role too. He really disappears into it. It’s great.
Blair: I’m so glad. That was the whole hope. I mean, you’re gonna know it’s him because there’s trailers and there’s posters and whatever, but in my mind, the hope was that if you didn’t have any of that promotional stuff, then for a moment, you wouldn’t know that that’s Elijah. That’s what we were going for.
DEADLINE: Totally. I heard that you’re in pre-production on your next movie. Can you tell me anything about that?
Blair: Yeah. You know, Toxie is very cartoonish and crazy and over the top. This one is more on the very real world side of things, and it’s a small road movie comedy, sort of down-to-earth change of pace.
The post ‘Toxic Avenger’ Writer/Director Macon Blair Hopes To Bring Back OG Characters & Cast Melanie Lynskey As Villain In Potential Sequel appeared first on Deadline.
