Universal Pictures is giving director Elizabeth Banks’ “character-driven thriller” Cocaine Bear a theatrical release tomorrow, February 24th (you can read some early reactions HERE), and some movie-goers are already hoping for a follow-up that would be called Cocaine Shark. It remains to be seen is there’s going to be a sequel at all, let alone one that would go aquatic, but during a conversation with Variety screenwriter Jimmy Warden (who happens to be married to genre icon Samara Weaving) confirmed that he has ideas for multiple sequels.
When asked if he has a sequel in mind, Warden replied, “Yeah, for sure. Not just a sequel. Many sequels. Cocaine Bear in Space is where we would probably end.“
When the interviewer said they couldn’t tell if he was kidding or not, Warden continued: “No, I’m f*cking with you about Cocaine Bear Goes to Space. But for the sequels, I definitely have ideas for that. The bear’s not the bad guy in this movie. What happened is a product of circumstance and everybody else’s poor decisions. I think that is a story that we can continue to tell over and over again. I’d be excited to tell it because there are some really good ideas that we have for the subsequent movies.“
Cocaine Bear is based on true events that took place in Kentucky in 1985. As our own Kevin Fraser reported last year, the true story goes like this: “In 1985, convicted drug smuggler Andrew Thornton was on a smuggling run from Columbia and had dumped several packages full of cocaine before bailing from the plane himself. Unfortunately, he hit his head on the tail of the aircraft and wound up in a freefall to the ground where he was found dead in someone’s driveway. Several months later, a 175-pound black bear was found dead after devouring approximately $15 million worth of cocaine that had been dropped by Thornton. “Its stomach was literally packed to the brim with cocaine,” the medical examiner who’d performed the bear’s necropsy said. “There isn’t a mammal on the planet that could survive that. Cerebral hemorrhaging, respiratory failure, hyperthermia, renal failure, heart failure, stroke. You name it, that bear had it.”
The cinematic take on the concept finds an oddball group of cops, criminals, tourists and teens converging in a Georgia forest where a 500-pound apex predator has ingested a staggering amount of cocaine and gone on a coke-fueled rampage for more blow… and blood.
The film stars Keri Russell (Antlers), Margo Martindale (The Americans), Ray Liotta (Goodfellas), Alden Ehrenreich (Solo: A Star Wars Story), O’Shea Jackson Jr. (Straight Outta Compton), Jesse Tyler Ferguson (Modern Family), Kristofer Hivju (Game of Thrones), Kahyun Kim (American Gods), Christian Convery (Sweet Tooth), Brooklynn Prince (The Florida Project), and newcomer Scott Seiss.
Cocaine Bear was produced by Phil Lord, Chris Miller, and Aditya Sood of Lord Miller, Elizabeth Banks and Max Handelman of Brownstone Productions, and Brian Duffield. Robin Fisichella and Nikki Baida serve as executive producers.
Are you looking forward to Cocaine Bear, and would you like to see this movie spawn a franchise? Share your thoughts on this idea by leaving a comment below. Personally, I’m totally on board for a series of cocaine-fueled killer animal movies.