It's pretty clear what Cocaine Bear is about. But who's in it? Who's behind
it? And why did this true story need to be re-told? Beyond the bonkers premise,
here's everything you need to know about Cocaine Bear.
Cocaine Bear was
first announced in 2019, with the trade describing it as "a unique bear-driven
horror comedy — with heart." That's quite the summary, and since then,
we've been expectantly waiting to see the story of "Pablo Escobear" play out on the big screen. Now,
we know exactly when that big furry predator will start snorting and snarling and scaring its poor
victims. Universal released the first poster for the project in November 2022, one that pictured
a black-and-white image of a very coked-up bear looking ready to seriously mess some people up.
The poster's tagline reads "get in line," and it was accompanied by a
release date. Prepare to see the horrors and hilarity of a drug-fueled man-eater
when Cocaine Bear crashes exclusively into theaters on February 24, 2023.
The plot of Cocaine Bear
promises to be absolutely wild. According to The Hollywood Reporter,
Cocaine Bear will mix horror and comedy together, creating a movie that'll deliver
both cackles and carnage. Of course, one of the biggest selling points for the film is
that it's based on a true story. According to Rolling Stone, in real life, a man named Andrew
C. Thornton decided to use his background as a paratrooper, cop, and lawyer — along
with his own plane — to smuggle cocaine from Colombia into the U.S. During one fateful run,
he overloaded the plane and was forced to toss packages of coke down into the forest below.
That's when some poor bear stumbled upon the nose candy and decided to gobble down about $15 million
of the stuff. Needless to say, the bear overdosed. As for Thornton, his fate was
also pretty grisly. Realizing he would need to bail, Thornton jumped from his plane ... only
his parachute didn't open, and some unlucky fellow found Thornton dead on his driveway.
"An elderly gentleman had called the dispatch and said that there
was somebody in his yard and he didn't look like he was moving."
The story was reported on by The New York Times, and now, this larger-than-life tale
is getting what promises to be an even crazier big-screen adaptation.
Just like the titular bear
is absolutely loaded with coke, Cocaine Bear is absolutely loaded with talent. First up,
there's Keri Russell, best known for playing Russian spy Elizabeth Jennings
in The Americans and the titular character in J.J. Abrams' WB series Felicity. Interestingly,
Russell won't be the only Americans alum in the film, as she'll be joined by Margo Martindale, who
won two Emmys for playing Russell's KGB handler in the aforementioned FX series, as well as Matthew
Rhys, who starred in the series as Russell's husband/fellow undercover spy, Philip Jennings.
They'll be accompanied by the late, great Ray Liotta, who starred in films like Goodfellas
and Field of Dreams. As the actor passed away in May 2022, Cocaine Bear will be the legendary
actor's final film. The movie also stars Alden Ehrenreich of Solo: A Star Wars Story fame,
O'Shea Jackson Jr. from Straight Outta Compton, and Jesse Tyler Ferguson of Modern Family.
"Bears can't climb trees."
"Of course they can."
In keeping with its reported horror-comedy vibe, Cocaine Bear was originally going to be directed
by Radio Silence — the group comprised of Matt Bettinelli-Olpin, Tyler Gillett,
and Chad Villella, three guys who've helmed similarly hilarious yet scary films like Ready
or Not and Scream 6. However, now Radio Silence is out, and another director skilled at comedy is in.
Cocaine Bear will now be helmed by the one and only Elizabeth Banks. On the
acting side of things, you know Banks from The Hunger Games franchise and the Pitch
Perfect series. On the directing side of things, Banks has two movies under
her filmmaking belt — Pitch Perfect 2 and 2019's Charlie's Angels. In other words,
we know for a 100% fact that Banks can bring the laughs. As for the thrills, we're very interested
to see what Banks can bring to the horror table as she branches out from her usual genre.
In addition to Elizabeth Banks,
Cocaine Bear has quite a bit of talent sitting behind the camera. The film's
producers are absolute powerhouses when it comes to creating zany, mind-bending movies. Phil Lord
and Chris Miller have been involved with the project since 2019. The two are perhaps best
known for their directing work, having helmed films like Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs,
21 Jump Street, and The LEGO Movie. They've also produced quite a few winners,
including The Mitchells vs. the Machines and Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse.
Of course, they aren't the only ones producing this cocaine-fueled pic. In addition to Aditya
Sood and Max Handelman, Brian Duffield will help bring this movie to the big screen. Duffield
is one of the most original filmmakers working today. Having penned scripts for titles like The
Babysitter, Underwater, and Spontaneous, Duffield is definitely skilled at combining comedy with
jaw-dropping horror. In other words, he seems like the perfect fit for this insane project.
This probably won't come as much
of a shock, but Cocaine Bear is going to feature
some drug use. It's right there in the title. And once that titular apex
predator starts snorting that coke, things are going to get bloody — very, very bloody.
After all, movies that feature very hungry bears, a la titles like Backcountry and The Revenant,
tend to get pretty intense – and those guys weren't even using when they decided to hunt
down some humans. Throw some nose candy into the mix, and it should come as no surprise that
Cocaine Bear has been rated R for "bloody violence and gore, drug content, and language throughout."
"Oh man, you f—ed."
"What the f–k is wrong with that bear?"