Legendary Developing Toxic Avenger Movie Reboot

Legendary Entertainment has acquired the feature film rights to The Toxic Avenger, with plans to develop a big screen reboot for the character. Originally founded in 2005, Legendary has helped produce such blockbuster franchises as Christopher Nolan's Dark Knight trilogy and Jurassic World. In recent years they have also branched out into more traditional dramatic fare as Steve Jobs and BlacKkKlansman. They will, however, return to big-budget form in 2019 with both Detective Pikachu and Godzilla: King of the Monsters scheduled to hit theaters.

Established in 1974, Troma Entertainment couldn't be farther away on the spectrum. Although enjoying both cult and commercial success, Troma productions are more akin to 1950s B-movies than anything else. Embracing elements of horror and farce, the studio has created such creative titles as Killer Condom and Cannibal! The Musical. Running for over 40 years, Troma is the longest-running independent studio in North America. As such, it has featured work from such notable filmmakers as J.J. Abrams and James Gunn, who went on to direct Star Wars and Guardians of the Galaxy, respectively. Troma founder, Lloyd Kaufman, remains a staunch friend and defender of Gunn in the wake of recent controversies.

As announced in an official release from Legendary, the studio will be attempting to bring one of Troma's most successful properties equally into the mainstream. The Toxic Avenger tells the story of Melvin Junko, a 98-pound janitor who, after falling into a drum of toxic waste, is transformed into a deformed and hulking beast. Adopting the name Toxic Avenger (or Toxie for short) Melvin uses his new-found strength for good, choosing to combat crime in his neighborhood. Having acquired the rights to the franchise, Legendary is already moving forward with production. As of yet, there is no word on who will write and/or direct the film, but both Kaufman and co-founder Michael Herz will serve as producers. Alex Garcia and Jay Ashenfelter will oversee for Legendary.