The true story behind “Cocaine Bear,” Elizabeth Banks’ wild new thriller comedy movie

The trailer dropped for the 2023 comedy thriller Cocaine Bear, which has got a lot of people asking questions about the movie’s origin. The film tells story of a bear who comes across a large quantity of cocaine, ingests over 40 kilos of it, and proceeds to wreak coke-fueled havoc on the small town.

The shocking part of this movie story is that it’s absolutely true… well the framework of the story at least.

It all starts in 1985 when a drug smuggler dropped over 75 pounds of cocaine over a small Georgia town. The drug smuggler was Andrew C. Thornton II. Thornton had worked in the narcotics squad for the police in Lexington, KY and during his time there he began his drug smuggling operation. Thornton later quit the police force to become a lawyer and of course focus more on his smuggling operation.

Thorton would become the head of a major drug smuggling ring in the Southern United States and during this time he chartered a plane with large amounts of cocaine from Columbia to Kentucky. On one run, Thornton attempted to parachute out of the plane, but his chute failed to deploy, and he fell to the ground with a lot of drugs strapped to his body. Thorton died upon impact but the drugs made the landing and were found by a black bear near the Georgia/Kentucky border.

In real life the bear found the cocaine, ate most of it, and died of an overdose on a then-street value of $15M in cocaine. It’s body was found in the Chattahoochee National Forest. It was later stuffed and sold to the one and only Waylon Jennings. After Jennings’ death it bounced around in the hands of a few collectors and Pawn brokers. Now, the bear has earned the monikers “Cocaine Bear” and “Pablo Eskobear” and on display in a mall in Lexington, KY.

Where this movie lives is in the fictional space between the consumption of the drugs and the bear’s death. Making a fun and goofy dark comedy in the process. While the story is incredible, it is also easy to see where the comedic elements can come in. The story sounds like the type of thing someone at a bar would make up to you as a tall tale.

So, in a world where everyone seems to complain about sequels and re-boots, this should be a film those people should embrace with open arms. Cocaine Bear is directed and produced by Elizabeth Banks who, in addition to being a well-known actress, has previously directed Pitch Perfect 2 and the Charlie’s Angels movie.

The movie also has some great comedic names attached to it, including Jesse Tyler Ferguson, best known for portraying Mitchell Pritchett on Modern Family and Scott Seiss, a stand-up comedian known for his viral series of comedic videos portraying “angry retail guy.” 

The movie also stars Keri Russell, O’Shea Jackson Jr., Alden Ehrenreich (ya know, Han Solo), and Mr. Sheeeiiit himself Isiah Whitlock Jr. It’s also, surprisingly enough, one of Ray Liotta’s final film appearances, as the famous actor passed away in May of 2022.

Those anticipating the movie will have to be content with the trailer for a while, as the movie will not be dropping until February 24, 2023.