According to scooper Daniel Richtman, a sequel to last year’s “Cocaine Bear,” a dark comedy thriller, is in the works, with Elizabeth Banks producing and possibly getting back in the director’s chair.
Last year, Banks confirmed that she was very much open to the idea of a sequel: “We had a lot fun, and if I got the opportunity to surprise the audience and delight myself again, I would take it.” Why wouldn’t she? Made on a skimp $30M budget, the film ended up grossing $88M worldwide.
The fact that “Cocaine Bear” was based on a true story made it somewhat of a curiosity. But clearly, Banks took liberties with the actual events. The real-life female bear didn’t bother, let alone terrorize, anybody. She found the cocaine, indulged, then died of a heart attack. In Banks’ movie, the bear goes on a rampage.
Sometimes a film strives too hard to become a cult classic and that’s the exact issue that I had with “Cocaine Bear.” What bothered me about Banks’ playful, very meta movie was how too self-aware it was. Banks should have played it straighter, just to get unintentional B-movie vibes going. Instead, she directed it with the full knowledge and acknowledgment that what she was creating was absolutely ridiculous.