As most Troma fans know, The Toxic Avenger Part II and The Toxic Avenger Part III were originally written and shot as one movie, but directors Lloyd Kaufman and Michael Herz ended up with so much footage that they broke it up into two installments.
36 years years later, the filmmakers’ initial vision for the sequel has been reconstructed under its original title, Mr. Melvin.
Andrew L. Miller, Kaufman’s assistant, and Adam Peltier, star of Troma’s upcoming film The Power of Positive Murder, unearthed the original script and edited footage from the two films together as originally intended.
Toxie actor Ron Fazio provided some new voiceover for Mr. Melvin. He stars alongside Phoebe Legere, John Altamura, Rick Collins, John Altamura, Rikiya Yasuoka, and Lisa Gaye.
Clocking it at around two hours, the Mr. Melvin cut will premiere as part of Troma-Thon 2025 at the Mahoning Drive-In Theater in Lehighton, PA on July 18-19.
“I always dreamed of reconstructing The Toxic Avenger Part II and III into the single epic we originally intended before the MPAA sliced it up like week-old sashimi,” Kaufman tells Bloody Disgusting.
“I’m extremely delighted this is finally happening before I croak, and it’s even given me a reason not to blow my fucking brains out! It’s a very happy ending, and I’m proud to say Michael and I are leaving our mop in toxeriffic hands.”
“Honestly, it looks fantastic. The story makes way more sense, and in my opinion it’s a much better film than the other two individually,” says Miller.
“We’re going to be premiering the Mr. Melvin cut at Troma-Thon this year at The Mahoning Drive-In, our annual drive-in Troma movie marathon, and I think it’s going to be a really great experience for people to see this cut for the first time at the drive-in, the way it should be!”
“This isn’t a restoration. It’s a resurrection. We’re taking Parts II and III and making them whole—one film, one story, told the way it was originally intended. After this, you won’t want to watch them any other way,” adds Peltier.
“Lloyd Kaufman is a true auteur. His work is important. It has meaning. I hope Mr. Melvin gives people—especially the naysayers—another chance to actually look at what he’s been doing all these years. Because Mr. Melvin isn’t just a goofy sequel—it’s a complex piece of work.”
Peltier continues, “It’s as much about Toxie trying to figure out his place in the world once there’s no more crime to fight as it is about Lloyd grappling with what to do after creating a surprise cult hit. Both of them—Toxie and Lloyd—are facing the same question: do I sell out to the corporate overlords, or do I keep fighting the good fight?”
“We couldn’t be more excited to have Mr. Melvin premiering at Troma-Thon 2025,” enthuses Mahoning co-founder J.T. Mills. “In what’s being dubbed as ‘the year of Toxie,’ it’s perfect timing to see Troma finally putting together what was the original vision for the Toxic Avenger sequel, and getting to show our drive-in audience this historic, definitive cut, first, is a real honor!”
After ridding Tromaville of evil, Melvin Junko, the Toxic Avenger, has nothing left to fight. Evil has been vanquished, his mop is clean, and his heart feels… empty. Depressed and emotionally adrift, a psychiatrist with questionable motives encourages him to reconnect with his long-lost father in Japan. But this heartfelt journey is merely a charade, as Apocalypse Inc. lures Toxie overseas in order to blast him with Anti-Tromatons, corrupting his superhuman senses.
Blinded to the forces of evil, Toxie returns home and becomes a corporate puppet for infernal forces bent on enslaving Tromaville… and the world! Can the Toxic Avenger reclaim his soul and save Tromaville once again, or is the hero of the people doomed to become the very monster he always feared?
Troma-Thon tickets are on sale now. Along with Mr. Melvin, the two-night event includes screenings of Surf Nazis Must Die, Rise of the Super Tromettes, Rabid Grannies, Class of Nuke ‘Em High, and Def By Temptation.
Additional screenings of Mr. Melvin are being planned. The film is likely to eventually join the original four Toxic Avenger films in streaming on Troma Now. There’s also potential for physical media edition accompanied by newly discovered making-of footage.
The Toxic Avenger‘s legacy continues with Macon Blair‘s reboot starring Peter Dinklage, opening unrated in theaters on August 29.
Adam Peltier and Andrew L. Miller
The post ‘Toxic Avenger’ Sequel Reconstruction ‘Mr. Melvin’ to Debut at Troma-Thon in Pennsylvania [Exclusive] appeared first on Bloody Disgusting!.
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