The remake of the popular low-budget 1984 Troma movie, The Toxic Avenger, shares a first glimpse at Elijah Wood’s weirdly unsettling look as a supervillain. Also starring Game of Thrones star Peter Dinklage and Kevin Bacon, the reboot promises a faithful adaptation.
The Toxic Avenger’s world premiere is slated for the opening night of Austin’s Fantastic Fest this week. Fans will be surely flocking to the event to witness another bizarre yet intriguing superhero tale. It will follow Dinklage as Winston Gooze, a janitor who transformed into a superhero after an encounter with toxic waste.
Elijah Wood’s First Look In The Toxic Avenger Is Creepy As Hell
Director Macon Blair shared with Entertainment Weekly what fans can expect from the film without revealing too much of the core plot. He noted how similar it is to the original movie:
“There is a terrible industrial accident that renders him a mutant and an outcast, but also gives him some super strength and super abilities that sets him on a path of being an unlikely vigilante in this downward-spiraling society. Similar to the original Toxic Avenger, he’s singularly unqualified to be a hero. He’s not especially brave, he’s not especially crafty, but he has his heart in the right place, and he starts taking it to the limit when he’s pushed into a corner.”
Fans know Elijah Wood from Peter Jackson’s The Lord of the Rings, but this time, the actor brings out his creepy side to portray the villain Fritz Garbinger. Blair shares that the character is particularly reminiscent of “Riff Raff from The Rocky Horror Picture Show and the Danny DeVito Penguin.” He further added:
“The look came about by discussions I had with our designers and with Elijah himself. I wanted it to feel like a Peter Sellers type of performance where he just goes invisible. The idea is that you forget that it’s the Elijah that you know from Lord of the Rings or anything else.”
Indeed, fans were shocked to see the actor transform into someone unrecognizable, and many have commented on his appearance looking more like Oswald Cobblepot or Penguin. Check out these tweets below:
he is looking more penguin than penguin
— saTya (@POETICandFUNNY) September 20, 2023
first thought is danny devito as penguin
— Dadman Walking (@dadmann_walking) September 20, 2023
Smeagol just before he went full Gollum.
— Fọlábòmí Àmọ̀ó (@Folabz_) September 20, 2023
Looks like Frodo never took off that ring💀
— MohitVerse (@comicverseyt) September 20, 2023
At first glance I thought this would be the origin of the Penguin
— Mark Anthony Travels (@MarkAnthony2021) September 20, 2023
That’s Danny Devito as the Penguin don’t lie to us
— Joel “Bam” Watts (@Bamalam) September 20, 2023
Elijah Wood is slowly inching away from his Frodo Baggins days, but he is somewhat giving off a Gollum vibe in this photo so maybe he will never get away from the LOTR franchise.
Peter Dinklage Flaunts His Pink Tutu Costume
Macon Blair also gave a brief description of Peter Dinklage’s iconic tutu look, sharing the inspiration came from the original movies, specifically 1989’s The Toxic Avenger Part II and The Toxic Avenger Part III: The Last Temptation of Toxie. He told EW:
“His look is closer to that, and in terms of color palette, we drew from the cartoon actually. But it’s practical effects. You can see all the goopy little boils and stuff like that. And we definitely stayed true to some of the really iconic elements: the tutu that’s melted onto his body, the janitor’s mop as his super weapon.”
This is a very intriguing show for the fans of the superhero genre. The Toxic Avenger also stars Julia Davis and Jonny Coyne and will premiere at Austin’s Fantastic Fest from September 21 to 28, 2023.
Sources: Entertainment Weekly, Twitter
