Lord of the Rings star Elijah Wood looks unrecognizable in first look at new superhero comedy

Elijah Wood looks pretty unrecognizable in the first look at his new movie The Toxic Avenger. He stars alongside Game of Thrones star Peter Dinklage in the upcoming reboot of the cult classic about a janitor who becomes a superhero after falling into a vat of toxic waste.

Entertainment Weekly first released a series of first-look images from the movie, including one featuring Wood as a villain called Fritz Garbinger. His appearance is miles away from Frodo in The Lord of the Rings and is instead, writer-director Macon Blair told EW, "sort of Riff Raff from The Rocky Horror Picture Show and the Danny DeVito Penguin mixed together."

Another of the new images features Dinklage in a tutu and a mask as the main character, a janitor named Winston Gooze. Kevin Bacon also stars in the film as Wood’s character’s brother, Bob Garbinger, who EW is told is a Lex Luthor figure. The movie doesn’t have a release date just yet, but expect some first reactions as it premieres at Fantastic Fest in Texas. 

Wood, Bacon, and Dinklage are joined by the confirmed cast of The Little Mermaid’s Jacob Tremblay, Zola’s Taylour Paige, Ted Lasso’s Sarah Niles, and comedian Julia Davis. The producers of the original movie, Lloyd Kaufman and Michael Herz, will be back too who have also been involved in the wider franchise, featuring sequels, games, comic books, and a stage musical.

The official synopsis bills the dark comedy as a revenge story, where Winston (Dinklage) plays a janitor with a terminal illness. His greedy employer refuses to pay for his treatment, which leads Winston to take matters into his own hands and rob the company, only to fall into a pit of toxic waste. With his newfound powers, he sets out for vengeance.

For more upcoming movies, check out our guide to all of the 2023 movie release dates.