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You think a movie with a romantic subplot starring Jack Quaid would be your dream love situation. Companion tells you to think again.

Josh (Quaid) is a man who seems like the perfect package to Iris (Sophie Thatcher). The two “meet” in a grocery store when Josh accidentally knocks over an entire shelf of oranges and the rest is history. Sort of. It is hard to talk about Companion without slight spoilers so later, I will talk about a bit of the plot. For now, there are aspects of this film that really aid the overall themes being presented to us by writer and director Drew Hancock.

The Toxic Avenger is one of the pillars of ’80s horror and remains a splatter classic to this day. That’s why we were so excited when Macon Blair of all people signed on to write and direct a remake. Starring Peter Dinklage, Elijah Wood, and Kevin Bacon, we first heard about the movie all the way back in 2018. It opened the 2023 Fantastic Fest in Austin, TX, and subsequently played more genre festivals that year. We thought for sure it would release shortly thereafter. But that’s not always how things work. Luckily, according to Variety, The Toxic Avenger will see theaters this year.

Cineverse will distribute the movie some time in 2025 and Blair expressed gratitude to both them and his collaborators for their patience in this process. In an official statement, the director said:

“It’s so cool that folks will have the chance to see this in theaters, it’s a fun rowdy movie you wanna see with a crowd. Mutant hero smashes bad guys with a mop: perfect entertainment for the whole family! Our goal was always to preserve the heart and spirit of the original Toxie (which was seared into my brain at a very young age) and try to make something that Troma fans would dig and at the same time do something with the character that feels fresh. Lloyd and Michael at Troma have been a blast to work with, absolutely everyone at Legendary are stars, and I can’t wait to start working with the champs at Cineverse to bring this version of Toxie to fans new and old.” 

The original Toxic Avenger debuted in 1984 and put Lloyd Kaufman, Michael Herz, and Troma on the map with its blend of irreverent, often puerile humor and over-the-top splatter gore. Troma has produced three sequels for the title as well as, of all things, a short-lived early-’90s children’s cartoon.

The new film centers on Dinklage as Winston Gooze, a hopelessly unlucky janitor at a toxic waste facility who, though a series of unfortunate events gets doused in chemicals and transforms into a hideous, green mutant. “Armed with his signature mop, the unlikely hero battles freaks, gangsters, and corrupt CEOs while trying to save his relationship with his son. The story channels the subversive gonzo energy of the original Toxic Avenger while delivering a fresh, contemporary twist,” reads the official synopsis.

I for one am very excited for people to finally get to see this one on a grander scale. I got to see it at Beyond Fest in LA in 2023 and even talk to Macon Blair about it for Nerdist‘s Laser Focus podcast. It’s a very fun time, and just as delightfully gross as you’d hope. And funny, too.

Editor’s Note: Nerdist is a subsidiary of Legendary Digital Networks

Kyle Anderson is the Senior Editor for Nerdist. He hosts the weekly pop culture deep-dive podcast Laser Focus. You can find his film and TV reviews here. Follow him on Letterboxd.

The post THE TOXIC AVENGER Reboot Will Hit Theaters 2025 appeared first on Nerdist.

During the inauguration, President Donald Trump claimed that his allies “rigged” the election in his favor. While this was largely delivered as a joke, online spectators were unsettled, to say the least.

“We had our top people, Wasserman—they all came in for the Olympics,” Trump spoke of Casey Wasserman, the chairman for the 2028 LA Olympics. Trump then expressed disappointment that he wouldn’t be president during the 2026 World Cup and the 2028 Olympics. He continued, “I said, ‘I won’t be there! I won’t be your president.’ But then they rigged the election, and now we won, so I will be your president for the Olympics.” The crowd erupted into a cheer, but those online were disturbed by Trump’s words.

The Atlanta Symphony Orchestra and the Ebenezer Baptist Church formerly enjoyed a long and prosperous partnership, but it had fallen by the wayside until a chance meeting between Ebenezer’s current senior pastor Sen. Raphael Warnock, and the executive director of the orchestra, Jennifer Barlament, brought them back into fellowship.

According to Rough Draft Atlanta, Barlament and Rev. Warnock ran into each other at the Woodruff Arts Center sometime during the fall of 2024.

As Barlament tells the story, Warnock’s love of music and the arts offered the opportunity for the church and the orchestra to rekindle a dormant relationship.

“I said, ‘Hey, Reverend Warnock, nice to meet you,’ and introduced myself,” she recalled to the outlet during an interview earlier in January. “And one thing led to another. We just had a really nice conversation about music and how much he loves music, how great the acoustics are here at Ebenezer and how the orchestra and the church had this relationship in the past. And so he basically said, ‘Well, come on down, let’s do something together.’”

According to musician and educator Dr. Patrice Turner, the worship director at Ebenezer Baptist Church, most are aware of Ebenezer’s history in the context of social justice, but fewer people know about the rich musical legacy of the church.

“People know about Ebenezer being a home for social justice,” Turner told Atlanta Rough Draft. “They know about the great preaching that has happened at this church, but they might not necessarily realize that there was a wealth of musical and arts-related production that has come out of Ebenezer. And so this particular concert reflects that.”

Morehouse College Alum, Carlos Simon, a composer whose work is included in Turner’s survey of music history, specially crafted for the collaboration between the orchestra and the church, told the outlet that he hopes his music can spur more composers to speak out regarding social justice.

“I think that more composers are having the courage to speak about what’s happening in the world, whether it be politics or socioeconomic problems, and embed that into the music,” Simon told Atlanta Rough Draft. “And so that there is a cultural awareness that happens and people, hopefully audience members, will leave and say, ‘Wow, I had no idea, you know, this was happening’ or ‘I had no idea about this segment of the Black church. Let me do my research. Let me understand, maybe go to the church, you know, and visit.’ So I think there’s a lot more emphasis to reflect our society.”

Rev. Dr. Bernice King, the CEO of the King Center and the youngest child of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and Coretta Scott King, discussed this year’s theme for observations of her father’s legacy, “Mission Possible,” with GPB News a few days after the Jan. 4 recording of the concert.

The concert can be watched via GPB.org starting on Jan. 20.

“What is possible is that we can continue to cultivate and protect freedom, justice and democracy,” King said, “if we align ourselves with the teachings of my father, nonviolence and not just the actions, but the mindset that he left for us to consider.”

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