Arnold Schwarzenegger (“Terminator” series, Total Recall) is in negotiations to star in writer/director Steve Pink’s (Hot Tub Time Machine) big budget action comedy The Toxic Avenger, produced by Akiva Goldsman, Richard Saperstein, Charlie Corwin, Stephen Kessler and Michael Benaroya. Lloyd Kaufman and Michael Herz will executive produce. The announcement was made today by International Film Trust’s (IFT) President Ariel Veneziano who will handle all international rights to the film alongside IFT’s Head of Sales Christian de Gallegos.
Set to be introduced to buyers at Cannes 2013, The Toxic Avenger is currently in pre-production and scheduled to start principal photography this fall.
Loosely based on Lloyd Kaufman’s classic Troma franchise, The Toxic Avenger is the tale of a high-school kid who gets dunked in a vat of toxic waste by a corrupt chemical company. He survives the ordeal with one major side effect: upon contact with toxic chemicals, he transforms into a monster with superhuman strength. Schwarzenegger would play “the Exterminator,” a former black ops agent, who trains Toxie to use his powers for good. Together they take on the lurking menace created by the polluters, and the polluters themselves.
“Moviegoers around the world were thrilled when Arnold Schwarzenegger returned to acting so effortlessly filling the gap that he left behind,” said producer and IFT co-founder Michael Benaroya. “He is the ultimate action hero with a natural comedic versatility and will be pitch perfect in The Toxic Avenger.”
“Our film is a perfect combination of commercial genre, star power and award winning filmmakers to set it apart from other titles on offer at Cannes this year. ‘The Toxic Avenger’ is a blockbuster in waiting with franchise potential. The buyers will love it,” said IFT President Ariel Veneziano.
(Photo Credit: Daniel Deme / WENN.com)
