A giant tomato rolls toward a farm house in Attack of the Killer Tomatoes: Organic Intelligence. Image via Starboard Entertainment By Lloyd Farley Published Oct 6, 2026, 12:05 AM EDT Lloyd 'Happy Trails' Farley: the man, the myth, the legend. What can be said about this amazing - and humble - man that hasn't been said before? Or, more accurately, what can be said in public? Born in Calgary, Alberta, Canada, Lloyd is a master of puns and a humorist, who has authored one pun book to date - Pun and Grimeish Mint - and is working on a second. His time with Collider has allowed Lloyd's passion for writing to explode, with nearly 1,000 articles to his name that have been published on the site, with his favorite articles being the ones that allow for his sense of humor to shine. Lloyd also holds fast to the belief that all of life's problems can be answered by The Simpsons , Star Wars , and/or The Lion King . You can read more about Lloyd on his website , or follow his Facebook page and join the Llama Llegion. Happy trails! Sign in to your Collider account Add Us Summary Generate a summary of this story Like Like follow Follow followed Followed Listen Thread Log in Here is a fact-based summary of the story contents: Try something different: Show me the facts Explain it like I’m 5 Give me a lighthearted recap The wait is over . The biggest film of 2026 is set to be released on digital October 6th, promising to overwhelm servers across the globe. Spider- who ? Never heard of him. Besides, we're talking about the other one: Attack of the Killer Tomatoes: Organic Intelligence , the latest and greatest (is it? Read on . . .) in a franchise that started almost 50 years ago with Attack of the Killer Tomatoes .
But after three sequels – one of which, Return of the Killer Tomatoes , launched the career of one George Clooney – and a Saturday morning cartoon, the franchise has been silent since Killer Tomatoes Eat France! in 1992. So, how does a franchise that's been in the ketchup bottle for 34 years get back on the menu? In a Collider exclusive, creators Costa Dillon and J. Stephen Peace disclose the harrowing truth .
Attack of the Killer Tomatoes, released in 1978, spoofed the schlocky B-movies of the 1950s/1960s, replacing the giant ants of Them! with the absurd premise of the seemingly innocuous tomato turning against mankind. The little film, made for under $100,000 , is more clever than its reputation would suggest , satirizing everything from government cover-ups to disaster movies and sensationalized news. As Dillon and Peace explain:
"Within the budget we had, I don't think anyone could have done better. We were before Airplane! , before Spaceballs . . . but you can see traces of Killer Tomatoes in those and other films that came after ours."
Its emergence as a cult classic led to 1988's Return of the Killer Tomatoes , a criminally underrated film that retained the satiric edge of the original (a brilliant product placement bit and teen sex movie parody " Big Breasted Girls Go to the Beach and Take Their Tops Off " are highlights) while providing the tomatoes a backstory involving Professor Gangreen, played by the legendary John Astin . Gangreen would factor into the next two films as well as the cartoon series. Astin, who at 96 is as animated as ever, was thrilled to continue this partnership with the new film, as were Dillon and Peace:
"When I called John and asked if he was interested in being in the new Killer Tomato movie, he jumped a…