Sausage Party Co-Director, Conrad Vernon, Lined Up To Direct
Deadline is reporting that the Troma classic, The Toxic Avenger is slated for a remake. The project will be directed by Sausage Party co-director, Conrad Vernon. In addition, Archer scribe Mike Arnold is set to co-write the screenplay with Chris Poole. The film will also be executive produced by Troma founders Lloyd Kaufman and Michael Herz.
The announcement comes off Vernon’s success with Sausage Party, the R-rated animated film about food being horribly slaughtered by people. Vernon had this to say about the hire:
The opportunity to re-imagine a favorite cult-classic from my high school years is an honor. Toxie is an underground icon. My favorite kind.
This is somewhat new territory for Vernon. All of his past directorial projects have been animated films such as Shrek 2, Monsters vs. Aliens and Madagascar 3: Europe’s Most Wanted. This will be Vernon’s first foray into the realm of live-action film. Certainly, Vernon has proved that his comedic stylings could lend itself well to the Troma franchise.
Producer Richard Saperstein had some kind words for Vernon:
Conrad Vernon is a subversive comedic genius. He is the perfect director to bring this iconoclastic franchise back to life,
It will certainly be interesting to see what a larger budget Toxie would look like. Surely, The Toxic Avenger remake will offer a different side to the superhero genre which dominates the box office at the moment. With tongue-in-cheek films like Deadpool doing so well in theaters, Toxie could find a home with more mainstream audiences.
