Elijah Wood will reportedly star alongside Peter Dinklage and Jacob Tremblay as the lead villain in The Toxic Avenger reboot. The Toxic Avenger is a low-budget American superhero film released in 1984. The film meshed the genres of horror, comedy, and action, bringing to the screen a campy, gore-filled tale of a weak janitor who transforms into a gruesome superhero after being exposed to toxic chemicals. The film came to be regarded as a cult classic and spurned multiple sequels, a musical production, and a cartoon.
A reboot of the film has been in the works since 2010. However, the ball didn't get rolling until Legendary stepped in and acquired the filming rights for the movie. Recently, Legendary nabbed Macon Blair as The Toxic Avenger's writer and director, and the film has slowly been coming together. The remake has garnered attention recently for its impressive cast list, as it includes multiple high-profile actors.
As reported by The Illumminerdi, Elijah Wood has allegedly been cast as the lead villain in The Toxic Avenger. Wood will take on the role of Bob Garbinger - the greedy and corrupt boss of Winston (Dinklage) who seeks to become as powerful as the Toxic Avenger, according to reports. Garbinger seems to be the typical corrupt, egomaniac CEO who steps on others to get ahead and endangers many in his insatiable desire for power. Check out the character description of Wood's character below:
Bob Garbinger (40-50) – Leonine hair and eerie plastic surgery. Evil head of the shady company Garb X. He has no regard for the well being of anyone but himself and embarks on a murderous spree to become as powerful as Toxie. His ego is bolstered by his standing amongst the towns official but in reality he lives in fear of the underworld gang he’s indebted to.
Wood will share the screen with Game of Throne's Dinklage, who is slated to star as the Toxic Avenger. Taylour Paige, who received critical acclaim for her role in Ma Rainey's Black Bottom will star as the female lead of the movie, while Room's Jacob Tremblay will purportedly portray Winston's son. Wood's entrance makes for yet another exciting addition to the cast list. While most know Wood for his role as Frodo Baggins in the Lord of the Rings trilogy, he has amassed a wide array of film and television credits, and has already proven that he makes a mean villain with his role as Kevin in Sin City.
The announcement that Wood will reportedly star in The Toxic Avenger, alongside several other high profile actors, makes things interesting. In general, the film has a slight disadvantage in that it doesn't have any affiliation with the giants in the superhero industry, like Marvel or DC. Also, the fact that the original is cherished for its low-budget campiness and gruesomeness, makes it a bit difficult for a remake to embody everything that the cult classic did, hence why many of the sequels failed to measure up to the original. However, with a capable director like Blair and an all-star cast, the remake is certainly gaining traction. Wood joining the cast raises the anticipation to see him take on another villain role, and, similar to the other strong casting choices, is a smart move to attract fans to the movie theater. Hopefully, the remake will succeed in finding balance between paying homage to the original The Toxic Avenger while upgrading the acting, plotline, and graphics in a meaningful way.
Source: The Illuminerdi