WIRE Buzz: Toxic Avenger uncovers new director; Danny Trejo navigating Dora the Explorer

Let's kick off our latest WIRE Buzz news roundup with a trip back to Tromaville. That's right, the long-planned reboot of The Toxic Avenger isn't going to waste after all; in fact, Variety reports that actor Macon Blair (Blue Ruin, Green Room) has now been hired to write and direct the project for Legendary Entertainment.

The radioactive remake has spent a fair bit of time toiling in development hell, with Sausage Party co-director Conrad Vernon last tapped as a director back in 2016. Richard Saperstein's Storyscape Entertainment was set to produce that version, but Legendary ended up acquiring the rights to the cult B-movie classic in December last year.

At one stage, in 2013, it was even rumored that Arnold Schwarzenegger was interested in joining the project, not to play Toxie himself, but as another male lead. Despite the delays, rest assured this latest incarnation of the rebooted movie is now said to be a top priority for the studio, per the report.

Blair's first film as a director, the comedy/thriller I Don't Feel at Home in This World Anymore, was released on Netflix in 2017 and won the the Grand Jury Prize for the U.S. Dramatic competition at Sundance. It will be interesting to see his take on the original gross-out comedy-horror, but diehard fans will be happy to hear that Lloyd Kaufman and Michael Herz of Troma Entertainment are serving as producers. Bring on the gore and gunge! 

Next up, here's some pretty adventurous casting news we did not see coming. Turns out, tough guy Danny Trejo has a starring role in the live-action movie version of Dora the Explorer. Yes, that's right, he of Machete fame will be joining the beloved children's character in her big-screen debut.

Trejo confirmed the news on his Twitter account today, while posting the newly dropped official movie poster. "The rumors are true, I finally can tell you I am a monkey...Boots!!!" he tweeted.

For those unaware, Boots is the 5-year-old furry monkey and Dora's best friend who is the co-host of the series. That Trejo has some serious range. And he's in some mighty fine company too, as the movie also boasts Benicio Del Toro as Swiper the masked bandit.

Meanwhile, Michael Peña and Eva Longoria star as the parents of Dora, who is being played by Isabela Moner. A children's movie? Sure, but with Trejo and Del Toro in the mix, we'd say that there's fun for the adults, too. Consider us ready to go explorin'.

Are y'all pumped for these new moves? Tell us all about in the comments below.