Macon Blair Will Write And Direct The TOXIC AVENGER Reboot

Legendary's been kicking around a Toxic Avenger remake for some time, and now it appears they've finally settled on a writer/director: Macon Blair, whose I Don't Feel At Home In This World Anymore is a movie you should immediately go watch on Netflix. If you need to finish reading this article later, that's fine; just go watch the dang movie. 

(Time passes)

Now that we're all on the same page - great choice, right? Blair's dark sense of humor and ability to juggle tone will likely come in handy while bringing a Toxic Avenger reboot to the big screen. The Troma original - a cult classic if there ever was one - was mostly a violent gross-out comedy, one that could certainly benefit from a bit of spit, polish and a good dose of quirk. It could also benefit from a fair amount of gory practical FX, something we imagine Blair's learned quite a lot about while starring in various Jeremy Saulnier joints (Blue Ruin, Green Room, Hold The Dark) over the past decade.

For those unfamiliar with the property: Michael Herz and Lloyd Kaufman's The Toxic Avenger told the story of Melvin Ferd, a quintessential '80s nerd working as a janitor in a New Jersey gym. Constantly picked on by bullies, the day comes when Melvin is chased out a second-story window and straight into a giant drum of toxic waste, the effects of which give him super-strength and a newly muscle-bound physique. He then sets about fighting crime, becoming something of a folk hero in the process. In the grand tradition of Troma Entertainment, it is a very, very weird movie (if you're curious, you can apparently stream it free via Amazon Prime, even as we speak).

We don't know anything else about the new Toxic Avenger at this point, but obviously we'll be keeping our ears to the ground for further updates. Whereas we were once mildly curious by such a project, we're now very intrigued.