Spare a thought for poor Melvin Ferd. When Margot Robbie gets pushed into a vat of toxic waste, she emerges as an even more attractive Margot Robbie. When Melvin gets tossed in, he emerges as the abominably ugly Toxic Avenger. At least the rule that ‘vats of strange substances in fantasy stories grant superpowers’ remain consistent; so while Harley Quinn is suddenly an expert gymnast and can wield a mean baseball bat, Toxie has super strength and wields a mean… mop. Close enough. Why are we suddenly ruminating on a 1984 Troma movie, you ask? Because after three decades it’s finally come time to reboot The Toxic Avenger, and this week brings a major update in its casting ahead of the film’s shoot later this June!

Before we get to the project’s latest development, let’s get up to speed: Game of Thrones veteran Peter Dinklage will be inheriting the mop, Room’s Jacob Tremblay is in the mix in an unknown role (possibly Toxie’s son), and Macon Blair is writing and directing for new rights holders Legendary Pictures. Blair is probably best known for his haunting turn in the award-winning 2013 indie Blue Ruin, but he’s also responsible for the fabulous 2017 Netflix Original I Don’t Feel at Home in This World Anymore starring Melanie Lynskey and Elijah Wood, which marked his transition from actor to filmmaker. Happily, Blair’s reboot has the full blessing of original creators Lloyd Kaufman and Michael Herz, who will both be on board as producers.

Now comes news that yet another interesting name has joined the picture in the form of Kevin Bacon himself. The actor is so omnipresent it’s scientifically proven that he can be linked to any other actor in the world in just six degrees of separation (give it a try!), so naturally he needs no introduction here. While the movie’s plot is still shrouded in secrecy, it is believed that Bacon will be playing its principal antagonist.

We’ll undoubtedly hear more on The Toxic Avenger remake as it gears up to shoot in Bulgaria any day now, so stay tuned for updates! In the meantime, for more Troma goodness, why not watch our exclusive interview with STARBURST International Film Festival Hall of Famer Lloyd Kaufman from last year! It’s every bit as bonkers as you might imagine…

New Line Cinema have announced that a new, feature length animated movie set in Middle Earth is in production. The movie will be put together by Warner Bros Animation.  Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance creators Jeffrey Addiss and Will Matthews will be writing the script and it will be directed by Kenji Kamiyama, who also brought us the award-winning anime, Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex and the critically acclaimed Napping Princess.

The feature will be called The War of the Rohirrim,  and will be set roughly 250 years before events of Lord of The Rings.  It will explore the war-torn history of Helm’s Deep and promises to be a spectacular and bloody feast for fans of fantasy and anime alike. The story will draw upon some of the deeper lore from Tolkien’s writing. Screenwriter Philippa Boyens, who worked on Peter Jackson’s Lord of the Rings and Hobbit film trilogies is to be a consultant on the project.

As yet, no voice actors have been cast for any of the roles, but given the high number of American voice actors who are card carrying fantasy fans, it’s likely that this will feature a stellar cast.

Classic John Carpenter horror movie Christine is to get the full Hollywood reboot treatment. The project will be written and directed by TV’s Bryan Fuller.  The original 1983 movie is based on the novel of the same name that launched Stephen King’s career to legendary status. It  is the story of a cherry red 1958 Plymouth Fury named Christine which becomes possessed by dark supernatural forces.  It’s owner becomes obsessed with the vehicle whilst the body count rises.

Bryan Fuller is better known for his TV work, which includes Hannibal,  Star Trek Voyager, American Gods and Pushing  Daisies. This will be his motion picture directorial debut and Fuller will write and direct for Sony and Blumhouse. The producers include Jason Blum, Vincenzo Natali and Steve Hoban. We understand the new movie will be based on the book rather than the movie, but given that the movie sticks pretty close to the book, that doesn’t really tell us much at this stage.
Despite its supernatural elements, Christine is broadly regarded as a science fiction story .Similar tales include other sci-fi fare such as Theodore Sturgeon’s Killdozer! and Issac Asimov’s “Sally”. This won’t be the first time Fuller has worked on a story about a deadly and malovolent vehicle ; he also wrote the teleplay for the Star Trek Voyager episode Alice which features a similar (but far less bloody) plot.