Elizabeth Banks’ upcoming movie about a bear that ate a lot of cocaine now has a release date of February 24, 2023. The Hollywood Reporter was the first to pick up Universal’s announcement about the film, which has a working title of Cocaine Bear.
The movie stars Keri Russell, Ray Liotta, Alden Ehrenreich, O’Shea Jackson, and Jesse Tyler Ferguson. Cocaine Bear is based at least in part on a true story, coming from an 1985 New York Times report, is about a 175-pound black bear that was found dead near the Tennessee-Georgia state line after apparently consuming over 70 pounds of cocaine. Per the NYT, the bear had been dropped from a plane by a local drug smuggler. The smuggler, Andrew Thornton, also met a bad end in Nashville, Tennessee after trying to carry too heavy a load while parachuting. The film is being described as a horror comedy and a thriller.
Jimmy Warden (The Babysitter: Killer Queen) wrote the script for Cocaine Bear. However, official plot details are being kept under wraps for now.
Phil Lord, Chris Miller, and Aditya Sood are producing for Lord Miller. Lord and Miller are also producing the upcoming Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse, due out June 2, 2023.
Banks previously directed Pitch Perfect 2 and the 2019 Charlie’s Angels reboot.
