Three years after Macon Blair’s The Toxic Avenger wrapped shooting, and a year and a half after its world premiere, the film finally has distribution and a release date for this summer. Not only that, but today comes our first official look at Peter Dinklage as Toxie, courtesy of EW.
It’s been a long, tough road for The Toxic Avenger, and for a while it looked like we might never see it in theaters. Last summer, reports emerged that distributors deemed the film “unreleasable” and “too far out there” with limited commercial prospects. This despite an Emmy winner in Dinklage, and a starry supporting cast that includes Taylour Paige, Kevin Bacon, Elijah Wood, and Jacob Tremblay.
But then came Cineverse, who acquired distribution with plans to release it theatrically as an unrated version. Better that than risking an NC-17 rating from the MPA for the excessive violence.
For those unaware of the 1984 Troma classic, The Toxic Avenger follows Winston Gooze, a janitor at a chemical plant who falls into a vat of toxic waste and emerges as the deformed superhero. He becomes an outcast, but also learns to use his powers to get revenge on corrupt CEOs and other criminals.
The Toxic Avenger will open in theaters on August 29th.
