TOXIC AVENGER Remake Gets a Director
Deadline is reporting that the live-action remake of Troma’s The Toxic Avenger now has a director.
Conrad Vernon, co-director of Sausage Party, will helm the new version of the story, which follows a New Jersey teenager after he accidentally falls into a vat of toxic waste and decides to become a superhero. The original was certainly played for camp, but the new version is said to be more “grounded and mainstream” — hopefully that doesn’t translate into “dark and gritty” — with Bob Cooper and Richard Saperstein’s Storyscape Entertainment developing the project.
“Conrad Vernon is a subversive comedic genius. He is the perfect director to bring this iconoclastic franchise back to life,” Saperstein said.
Vernon, whose animated Sausage Party was a sleeper hit despite the allegations of unfair labor practices, says, “The opportunity to re-imagine a favorite cult-classic from my high school years is an honor. Toxie is an underground icon. My favorite kind.”
Likely this new production won’t be the planned Toxic Avenger 5, but a completely new overhaul of the franchise. Saperstein will produce, with a script by Mike Arnold and Chris Poole (Archer) based on the original draft by Steve Pink and D.C. Mitchell.
The original 1984 cult hit was directed by Lloyd Kaufman and Michael Herz, with a screenplay by Kaufman and Joe Ritter. Released by Troma Entertainment, which is still cranking out B-movie camp fare, it started gaining popularity after a long midnight screening engagement at the Bleecker Street Cinemas in New York City. Kaufman had the original idea — a horror film in a health club — while working as pre-production supervisor on Rocky.
Kaufman and Herz will executive produce along with Cooper and Alex Schwartz producing for Storyscape, and Greg Lessans producing for Akiva Goldsman’s Weed Road. Charlie Corwin is also set as a producer.
The Toxic Avenger also spawned three sequels, a children’s cartoon, and even a musical stage production. The original film is considered to be the project that “built the house of Troma”, starting the company on the path to exclusively producing horror films.
