COCAINE BEAR Director Elizabeth Banks Up for Making a COCAINE SHARK Movie

Cocaine Bear looks like it’s going to be an awesomely insane and blood-drenched thriller. It’s not the kind of film that I’d expect to see Elizabeth Banks direct, but she did, and I’m all in! Well, this might not be the last cocaine animal movie that we see get made because the director is also interested in possibly making a Cocaine Shark movie!

Last week, "cocaine shark" became a trending topic on social media after New Zealand officials reported the discovery of more than three tons of cocaine floating in the Pacific Ocean. Now, there are no reports of a shark going on a crazy murder spree from ingesting the cocaine, but the idea is now out there, and it seems like an easy enough story to put together.

When asked about Cocaine Shark in an interview with People, Banks said: "I've seen that, If there's a great story, then sure. Jaws with cocaine, I don't see how that loses."

Cocaine Bear is inspired by the bizarre true story of a giant 500-pound American black bear that died ingesting 70 pounds of cocaine after a drug runner's plane crashed.

Cocaine Bear was written by Jimmy Warden, who sent the script to Phil Lord and Chris Miller, who then shared that script with Banks, and she shared her pitch on the movie, which they obviously loved. Miller said:

"She had a pitch deck, and it was pretty gory. It had a lot of body parts and internal organs in it. It was one of those things where you hear the concept and you're like, 'That's interesting, but is there a real movie in it?'  ... But Jimmy did a great job making it into something that would be fun – better than you'd imagine for something called Cocaine Bear."

The synopsis reads: "Don't coke the bear. Inspired by the 1985 true story of a drug runner's plane crash, missing cocaine, and the black bear that ate it. This wild thriller from director Elizabeth Banks finds an oddball group of cops, criminals, tourists and teens converging in a Georgia forest where a 500-pound apex predator has just ingested a staggering amount of cocaine and gone on a coke-fueled rampage for more blow… and blood.”

The movie stars Keri Russell, Margo Martindale, the late Ray Liotta, Alden Ehrenreich, O'Shea Jackson Jr., Jesse Tyler Ferguson, Kristofer Hivju, Kahyun Kim, Christian Convery, Brooklynn Prince, and Scott Seiss.

The movie will hit theaters on February 24th, 2023.