The movie industry is no stranger to off-the-wall concepts and stories, and outre filmmakers are used to throwing ideas at the wall and seeing what sticks. Whether it’s The Batman star Paul Dano playing the straight man to Daniel Radcliffe’s reanimated corpse-cum-life preserver (as in 2016’s Swiss Army Man), or Nicolas Cage desperately seeking his kidnapped pig (as in last year’s critically acclaimed Pig), out-of-the-round pitches can work just as well as tried and tested formulas, as long as they hold the audience.

Time will tell if Elizabeth Banks’ new film, Cocaine Bear, fits the bill. The movie, which is due for release by Universal early next year, is exactly what it sounds like – the tale of a black bear who gets high on cocaine in the wilderness. If you’re confused by the premise, you’re not the only one! Here’s what we know.

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Cocaine Bear: The Plot

     Universal Pictures

Under the impression that the title Cocaine Bear might be metaphorical? Think again. This film tells the story of a bear that finds and snorts cocaine. A lot of it. If it sounds like a comedy, the jokey vibes are alleviated by the revelation that such a circumstance did actually come to pass. In 1985, a drug dealer smuggling cocaine was flying over the southern United States when he jumped out of the plane with a number of parcels of cocaine strapped to his back. His parachute failed to open, and he died on impact.

However, it turned out that a separate duffel bag of cocaine had also been thrown out of the plane before it crashed. This bag was found in the middle of a Kentucky forest by a black bear, which promptly snorted most of it before dying of multiple organ failures.

Exactly how a character-driven thriller (for that is what Cocaine Bear is going to be) will get mileage out of such a crazy – and macabre – premise remains to be seen. Presumably, one thing the film will not be is boring.

Cocaine Bear: The Cast

     Dreamworks Television

Starring in Cocaine Bear is Keri Russell, whose long-time work as one of the two principals in The Americans (opposite Welsh actor Matthew Rhys, who she later married, and who also stars in the film in a supporting role) bagged her multiple Emmy and Golden Globe nominations. Her extensive film work has included Hollywood blockbusters (Mission Impossible: III, Dawn of the Planet of the Apes) as well as low-budget indie films (The Girl In The Park, Dark Skies). But her appearances on the big screen have been more sporadic in recent years, with supporting roles in Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker in 2019 and a leading role in Antlers, Scott Cooper’s supernatural horror film, last year.

Also appearing is O’Shea Jackson Jr., known to music fans as OMG. Jackson Jr. burst onto the scene in 2015 with his bravura performance as Ice Cube in F. Gary Gray’s biographical film about the members of N.W.A, Straight Outta Compton, and since then, has pushed hard in the sphere of comedy, starring opposite Dave Franco in last year’s miniseries The Now. Star Wars fans will also recognize him as Kawlan Roken from this summer’s Obi-Wan Kenobi.

Other cast members include another recent Star Wars veteran, Alden Ehrenreich (a sequel to Solo: A Star Wars Story remains the subject of speculation); Modern Family star Jesse Tyler Ferguson; Christian Convery (Van Helsing, Diary of a Wimpy Kid); and Emmy winner Margo Martindale (The Good Fight, The Watcher).

But the most poignant turn by far will be that of Ray Liotta, whose passing in May robbed the movie industry of one of its most well-liked actors. Liotta segued into comedy some years ago, but at the time of his death, the star of Goodfellas and Field of Dreams was undergoing something of a dramatic renaissance, with several well-received roles in recent crime thrillers and action films, including HBO Max’s The Many Saints of Newark and Steven Soderbergh’s No Sudden Move, as well as the miniseries Black Bird released this summer.

A final surprise is that the director of Cocaine Bear is Elizabeth Banks. Banks was seldom off the big screen in the 2000s, and her fame reached its zenith with her well-received acting work as Effie Trinket in the Hunger Games franchise in the early 2010s. Since then, however, Banks has increasingly pivoted towards directorial and production roles. Cocaine Bear represents an abrupt tonal change after her most recent directing work on Pitch Perfect 2 (2015) and the 2019 reboot of Charlie’s Angels. Filming took place in the Republic of Ireland late last year.

Release Date

Cocaine Bear is slated for release on February 24, 2023, in the United States.