Apatow has somewhat lost the kind of reach and influence he once had in the aughts (“Knocked Up,” “The 40-Year-Old Virgin”). His brand of male-dominated, bro-ish, comedy style hasn’t aged well in the #MeToo era.
The result is that his last few directorial efforts, very safe and mundane works, haven’t been that stellar, and it all came crashing down with 2022’s misbegotten “The Bubble.” He’s been pitching plenty of projects since then, but there hasn’t been much news in regards to anything being greenlit.
Deadline is now reporting that Apatow will be attempting a comeback. He’s signed on to helm a film tackling the ‘Cola Wars.’ Sony, who bought the project for $1 million-plus, are onboard. Here’s the synopsis:
The film tells the true story of Pepsi’s attempt to challenge Coca-Cola’s century-long reign as the world’s top cola. It uncapped the “Cola Wars” of the mid-1980s, which included everything from Michael Jackson’s fiery mishap to the New Coke debacle, as the ultimate underdog tale of history’s most iconic second-place contender (Pepsi) vying for the No. 1 spot (Coca-Cola).
The ‘Cola Wars’ is being written by Jason Shuman and Ben Queen. The project is still in the early stages of development, and we’re not sure whether this will be Apatow’s next project or the recently reported time travel romcom he has over at Universal.
This is very good news for Apatow, especially coming off the recent Puck report which tackled Apatow’s difficulties in getting some of his passion projects greenlit by any of the major studios. Apatow’s last scripted feature was the aforementioned $50 million Netflix bust, “The Bubble.” He’s done some documentary work on the side, but what he’s really itching for is a return in the directing game.
Apatow is said to have a multi-year deal with Universal. He recently produced the 2022 comedy “Bros” for them; it bombed at the box-office. Meanwhile, he’s also backing Keith and Kenneth Lucas’ semi-autobiographical comedy, which is still in development at the studio.