THE TOXIC AVENGER Live-Action Remake To Be Directed By SAUSAGE PARTY Co-Director
There are huge swaths of cinema I've missed out on, and regrettably one of those swaths is the entire body of work from Troma Entertainment. Films like Class of Nuke 'Em High, Nightbeast, and Surf Nazis Must Die have been on my radar for years, but I've never made time to sit down and watch them. Now The Toxic Avenger — one of the company's most successful cult hits — is getting a live action remake, and Deadline says the film has found its director. Conrad Vernon, who co-directed this summer's raunchy animated movie Sausage Party and directed Shrek 2, Monsters vs. Aliens, and Madagascar 3, will step behind the camera for this new version.
The 1984 B-movie told the story of a bullied janitor who becomes a mutant superhero after falling into a vat of toxic waste. This take is supposedly "a more grounded and mainstream telling of the story," which seems sort of antithetical to the entire point of the original. Isn't it supposed to be weird and off-kilter instead of mainstream?
"The opportunity to re-imagine a favorite cult-classic from my high school years is an honor," Vernon said in a statement. "Toxie is an underground icon. My favorite kind."
Having not seen the original, it's tough to say whether Vernon has the sensibilities to pull this off, especially as a live-action feature directorial debut. The good part is that expectations must be incredibly low. What do you think?