‘Cocaine Bear’ Trailer Promises Drug-Fueled Mayhem and Carnage in Elizabeth Banks Comedy

A bear goes on quite the drug-fueled adventure in the outrageous first trailer for Universal Pictures’ aptly titled dark comedy Cocaine Bear.

Inspired by bizarre real events from 1985, director Elizabeth Banks’ film focuses on a bear that ingests a monumental amount of cocaine following a drug runner’s plane crash, leading an array of authorities, criminals, teens and tourists to make their way to a forest in Georgia, where the fired-up animal is out for blood. The film, hitting theaters Feb. 24, 2023, features an ensemble cast that includes Keri Russell, O’Shea Jackson Jr., Alden Ehrenreich, Margo Martindale and the late Ray Liotta in one of his final performances.

One memorable moment shows Jesse Tyler Ferguson’s character learning the hard way that bears can, in fact, climb trees, even when they’re coked out. And at a different point, another character appropriately sums up the situation with the fair question, “What the fuck is wrong with that bear?”

During a trailer launch event moderated by The Hollywood Reporter, Banks, who previously directed Pitch Perfect 2 and Charlie’s Angels, explained why she sees a connection between her previous projects and this one. “All of my films so far, mostly, are about underdogs, and no matter who you are, if you meet a bear who is high on cocaine, you are the underdog in that situation,” Banks said. “And that presents an opportunity just for a lot of comedy and delight.”

Banks took inspiration from creature-feature flicks like Jaws but also quieter films such as Stand by Me. “I love horror, and I love gore, and I love horror-comedy, and I love Sam Raimi, and I love John Carpenter,” Banks said. “This takes place in 1985, so I felt like this was a real opportunity to create an homage to some of those kinds of films, but to do something unique tonally because it is also a character piece.”

Cocaine Bear is produced by Phil Lord and Christopher Miller for Lord Miller, Banks and Max Handelman for Brownstone Productions, Brian Duffield for Jurassic Party Productions and Aditya Sood for Lord Miller. Robin Mulcahy Fisichella, Alison Small and Nikki Baida are executive producers.