Arnold Schwarzenegger is in talks to star in the new “Toxic Avenger,” but he’s no Toxie. He’s in negotiations for another lead role in the reimagining of the 1980s cult pic.
International Film Trust, the sales outfit launched last week by Benaroya Pictures and Miscellaneous Entertainment, is pitching Steve Pink‘s reboot of the campy 1984 action comedy in the run-up to Cannes. New project has been described as an action adventure geared toward mainstream auds.
Schwarzengegger is talks with the producers to star. “Hot Tub Time Machine” helmer Pink and Daniel C. Mitchell penned the script while Elysium Films is attached to produce, along with Akiva Goldsman, Richard Saperstein, Charlie Corwin and Michael Benaroya.
Pic is one of several testosterone-laden projects targeted to appeal to older teens and adults at this year’s market. Others include Sean Penn starrer “The Gunman” and “Candy Store” with Robert de Niro.
Troma Entertainment’s Michael Herz and Lloyd Kaufman directed the original 1984 pic, which initially flopped before gaining cult popularity through midnight screenings. “Avenger” went on to spawn three sequels, a musical and a cartoon.
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Story centers around Melvin Ferd III, a 98-pound weakling who gets transformed into a superhuman crime-fighting creature after falling into a vat of toxic waste.
Schwarzenegger has been keeping busy since his Governatorship ended in 2010. He most recently appeared in Lionsgate’s “The Last Stand” and wrapped production on David Ayer’s action thriller “Ten.”
CAA and Bloom Hergott Diemer Rosenthal LaViolette Feldman Schenkman and Goodman rep Schwarzenegger.
Arnold’s U.S. Moneymakers:
