Peter Dinklage Says “Write to Your Congressman” If You Want to See ‘The Toxic Avenger’

It’s been nearly a year since The Toxic Avenger was reborn, yet general audiences still haven’t had a chance to see Peter Dinklage‘s iteration of the trashy Troma superhero. The reboot, written and directed by Macon Blair, earned a warm reception following its debut at Fantastic Fest last September with a strong 92% on Rotten Tomatoes and plenty of positive reactions from Collider’s Perri Nemiroff and John Aljets to Suitable Flesh director Joe Lynch. Promising the feel of a Troma cult classic mixed with modern sensibilities, it appeared to have something for newcomers and veteran fans of Lloyd Kaufman and Michael Herz‘s work. For anyone who’s been eagerly awaiting Toxie’s grand return, however, the wait might be a bit longer.

While speaking to Collider’s Steve Weintraub in a larger interview for his new Tubi Western, The Thicket, Dinklage revealed that he’s just as clueless as most fans regarding its potential release, but they’ll soon have another chance to see him work with Blair again. “Oh my gosh, I know. I’m in the dark just like you, man,” he said. “My friend Macon Blair, the writer-director of Toxic Avenger also plays Malachai in The Thicket. I love working with that man, I would do every movie with him if I could. But fingers crossed, it’ll see cinemas soon.” There’s little recourse for fans in a situation like this, but the Game of Thrones star remains hopeful and joked that they could always “Write to your congressmen. I don’t know what you do in this situation.”

Released in 1984, the original Toxic Avenger followed Melvin Ferd Junko III (Mark Torgl), a meek and often-bullied nerd who transforms into the titular mutant hero (Mitch Cohen) after falling into a vat of toxic waste. Blair’s take opts for a more emotional angle with the same R-rated trappings, instead casting Dinklage as the down-on-his-luck janitor Winston Gooze. Working at the Garb-X health club, Winston does his best to get by and help his young son Wade (Jacob Tremblay), though everything takes a turn for the worst when he’s diagnosed with a terminal illness. His greedy employers have no interest in helping him pay for the medication he needs and, when he tries to take matters into his own hands and steal from them, he, too, ends up taking a toxic bath. Now a superpowered mutant armed with his mop, he plans to clean up the city starting with a power-hungry tyrant and his toxic empire.

‘The Toxic Avenger’ Unites a Starry Cast

Surrounding the Emmy-winning Dinklage and Tremblay is a similar strong supporting cast, including over-the-top silly performances by Elijah Wood and Kevin Bacon as villains. Blair has also offered heavy praise in the past for Taylour Paige who brought much-needed “grit and physicality” to her role as the rogue investigator J.J. Julia Davis, Sarah Niles, and Julian Kostov round out the bunch. Blair will also have a role in his film, once again getting the chance to co-star with Dinklage after a past turn on I Care a Lot with him.

As Dinklage said, the pair will soon be seen on Tubi with The Thicket, which is currently slated to hit theaters on September 6. The film has been a long-gestating passion project for him that adapts the Joe R. Lansdale novel of the same name with Elliott Lester directing and Chris Kelley writing. In addition to producing, Dinklage stars as the bounty hunter Reginald Jones who joins a desperate young man named Jack (Levon Hawke) as he tries to save his sister (Esmé Creed-Miles) from the clutches of the infamous Cut Throat Bill (Juliette Lewis). To get to her, however, they have to brave the no-man’s land known only as The Thicket with help from some allies. Joining them in the gritty Western thriller are Leslie Grace, Gbenga Akinnagbe, Andrew Schulz, David Midthunder, Arliss Howard, and Metallica frontman James Hetfield.

Stay tuned here at Collider for more on Blair and Dinklage’s The Toxic Avenger reboot as it comes out.