The Toxic Avenger Is Not That Kind of Avenger

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The Toxic Avenger, a gritty, green, gore-filled character, returns to defend New Jersey’s streets. This revamped version of the character, featuring Peter Dinklage in the lead role, initially debuted at Austin’s Fantastic Fest in 2023, but it’s only now, in 2025, that the film is hitting the big screen. Originating from the 1984 cult classic with the same name, the movie was considered too violent for distribution by potential studios, despite boasting stars like Peter Dinklage, Kevin Bacon, and Elijah Wood, according to World of Reel. To clarify, it carries no official rating – a fact attributed to its combination of humor, monsters, punk rockers, mops, and exposure to toxic sludge by the film’s social media account.

Two years later, Cineverse took up distribution of “The Toxic Avenger” in January. Macon Blair, the director, expressed his heartfelt gratitude to the team behind the movie for their unwavering support during the search for a suitable distributor. In a statement, he was quoted by Variety as saying, “It’s awesome that people will finally get to watch this in theaters; it’s a lively, raucous film best enjoyed with a crowd.” Here’s all you need to know about the release of what was once an unreleaseable movie.

Where’s the trailer?

https://youtube.com/watch?v=watch?v=BpPEe4WcAm8It’s a bird! It’s a plane! It’s Peter Dinklage being thrown into a vat of toxic goo. In the first full trailer for the film, out June 20,  widower Winston Gooze (Dinklage) mopes around town while single-parenting his son, until one day a bunch of hooligans shove him in a vat of toxic waste. Suddenly, he’s a bulletproof hunk of green, ripping off bad guys’ arms. And heads. “He’s an ugly son of a bitch, though” a man says of the dashing hero at the end of the trailer. Yeah, but he's our ugly son of a bitch.

Wait … what even is this?

First debuting in 1984 alongside a Marvel comic series, the movie known as “The Toxic Avenger” gained popularity through its successful midnight screenings at New York’s Bleecker Street Theater and later as a late-night cable hit, according to Den of Geek. This film, initially not highly rated, eventually spawned two sequels in the 1980s: “The Toxic Avenger Part II” and “The Toxic Avenger Part III: The Last Temptation of Toxie,” both released in 1989. A fourth film, “Citizen Toxie: The Toxic Avenger IV” from 2000, did not acknowledge the first two sequels. In 2009, the New York Times criticized an Off-Broadway musical adaptation as “dopey” and “intermittently funny.” The upcoming film in 2025 retells the same “origin story” as the original, but with a grittier approach.

Who’s in the cast?

In this reimagining, Peter Dinklage takes on the role of The Toxic Avenger, with Jacob Tremblay portraying his son and Kevin Bacon embodying the villainous Bob Garbinger. Additional cast members include Taylour Paige as investigative journalist J.J. Doherty and Elijah Wood as Fritz Garbinger, younger brother to Bob. Interestingly, all characters have new names compared to the original film, such as Melvin Junko from the first Toxic Avenger movie, indicating a fresh take on the storyline.

When is the release date?

The Toxic Avenger premieres in theaters on August 25. Fun for the whole family!

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2025-06-21 00:53