After seeing Elijah Wood steal the screen in a very minor role in The Monkey, I’m convinced that he’ll be great in an upcoming horror comedy movie that is finally being released after two years. After playing the leading role of Frodo Baggins in The Lord of the Rings trilogy, Wood cemented himself as an important figure in cinematic history. After starring in a major franchise, a lot of actors have difficulty making a name for themselves in other projects. However, even though he’ll always be known as Frodo, Wood has also starred in many other interesting and creative movies.

Throughout his career, Wood has continuously shown an interest in the horror genre. Some of Elijah Wood’s best horror movies include Come to Daddy, The Faculty, and Maniac. This year, Wood returned to the horror genre with The Monkey, which follows two brothers who own a mysterious wind-up monkey that has evil powers and causes outrageous deaths. Even though he was only a supporting character in The Monkey, his role in the film is very memorable, and has made me incredibly excited for The Toxic Avenger reboot to finally be released this year.

Elijah Wood Is So Good In Limited Screentime In The Monkey

Wood’s Character In The Monkey Is Hilarious

In The Monkey, Hal and Bill find the evil monkey as children, and it doesn’t take long for people around them to start dying in gruesome ways. After the death of their mother, they move to Maine and live with their Uncle Chip and Aunt Ida. After Chip unsurprisingly dies, Hal and Bill decide to throw the monkey into a well, hoping to never see it again. This is when the Osgood Perkins movie jumps 25 years into the future. After this time jump, it is revealed that Hal is a father who only sees his son, Petey, once a year.

While Hal truly does care for his son, he chooses to keep his distance because he is still haunted by the powers of the monkey. Since he doesn’t want anything bad to happen to Petey, Hal happily allows him to be raised by his mother and step-father, who is played by Wood. In The Monkey, Wood plays Ted, a successful self-help author who wants to adopt Petey and completely remove Hal from his life. Wood’s bizarre mannersisms as Ted in The Monkey immediately steal the show and make him one of the most entertaining characters in the movie.

While Wood only appears in one scene in The Monkey, he makes the best of it. While telling Hal about his plan to adopt Petey, Ted continuously tries to belittle him. In the scene, Ted challenges Hal to an arm wrestling contest and claims that he has taken his “power” from him. Ted is such a strange but hilarious character in The Monkey, and I’m honestly shocked that he didn’t face a horrifying fate in the film.

Elijah Wood Is Appearing In The Controversial Toxic Avenger Reboot Next

Wood Will Star In Another Black Comedy Horror Movie In 2025

The Monkey is a strange movie, since it features a lot of horrific deaths but presents them in darkly funny ways. I can imagine it would be difficult for some actors to figure out how they should perform in a movie like this. The actors wouldn’t want to make it seem like the monkey is something that shouldn’t be feared, but they also need to try not to treat it as a complete joke. Therefore, the actors in The Monkey often toe the line between comedy and horror.

Even though Wood’s character is never exposed to the evil powers of the monkey in the film, he still figured out how to match the vibe of the movie. Even though Wood’s character is completely ridiculous in The Monkey, it is clear that he believes everything he is trying to preach to Hal. Wood fully committed to his role in The Monkey, and successfully proved that he has a knack for black comedy horror movies. Therefore, I am confident he will give an amazing performance in the upcoming Toxic Avenger reboot movie.

Elijah Wood’s The Monkey Cameo Makes Me Even More Excited To See Him The Toxic Avenger

The Toxic Avenger Is Hitting Theaters This Summer

The Toxic Avenger is an upcoming reboot of the film series of the same name, which began in 1984. The original film series follows a janitor who falls into a vat of toxic waste and becomes the deformed superhero known as The Toxic Avenger, also referred to as “Toxie.” The first Toxic Avenger movie wasn’t a box office hit when it was released, but its unique blend of comedy and horror has led to a cult following being formed. Three Toxic Avenger sequels were made before the reboot was announced, cementing it as one of the most unique superhero franchises.

After being in development for many years, The Toxic Avenger reboot finally premiered at several film festivals in 2023. However, despite its star-studded cast, which includes Peter Dinklage, Jacob Tremblay, Kevin Bacon, and of course, Elijah Wood, a wide theatrical release for the movie was not immediately announced. The Toxic Avenger has actually been described as unreleasable because of how gory and graphic it is. Thankfully, this year, it was finally announced that The Toxic Avenger would be released in theaters on August 29, 2025.

What To Expect From Elijah Wood’s The Toxic Avenger Role

Wood Plays Fritz Garbinger In The Toxic Avenger

Even though The Toxic Avenger is a reboot of the original series of films, its story will include a lot of major differences. Instead of falling into a vat of toxic waste, the тιтular Toxic Avenger will be diagnosed with a terminal illness in the upcoming reboot. Because of this change, it’s currently unclear exactly how the movie’s protagonist will gain his powers, but Winston Gooze, aka The Toxic Avenger, will seemingly choose to fight villains after being told that he is going to die.

Winston Gooze is played by Dinklage in The Toxic Avenger, whereas Wood plays the brother of the movie’s villain. In The Toxic Avenger, Wood portrays Bacon’s villainous character’s brother, whose name is Fritz Garbinger. While Bacon’s character is inspired by DC Comics’ iconic villain Lex Luthor, Wood’s character is inspired by Penguin. Not much is known about Wood’s character in the film, but he is unrecognizable in the role, proving that he fully committed to the project. Therefore, after loving his minor role in The Monkey, I am so excited to see what Wood does in The Toxic Avenger.