It’s no surprise that a star-studded movie titled “Cocaine Bear” is getting a lot of attention, especially when the film is literally about a black bear that goes on a cocaine-fueled rampage. It’s a tricky R-rated subject for Funko given that developing a Pop figure of a Bear with white powder all over its face probably wasn’t an option. In the end, they went with a manic, bloody bear that’s accessorized with the dismembered foot of a hiker, though we bet they secretly wonder what the profits would be like if they could add a white powder Chase into the mix. UPDATE: Shockingly, Funko actually launched a (more) R-rated version of this Pop, and it will be available as a Funko Shop exclusive. It features the bear with the bag of cocaine that kicks off the mayhem. You can sign up for notifications here at the Funko Shop.
As for the common Funko Pop in the Cocaine Bear lineup, it is available to pre-order here at Entertainment Earth for $11.99 with free domestic US shipping on orders $39+ and 10% off any in-stock items using our exclusive link.
The new action-comedy is based on the true story of a black bear who ate an incredible amount of cocaine after a drug runner’s plane crashed in 1985. Andrew C. Thornton II was a former narcotics officer and convicted drug smuggler, who dumped a duffel bag of cocaine out of his plane because his plane was too heavy. Thornton intended to recover the bag himself, jumping out of the plane with a parachute, but the parachute was faulty, and Thornton died. Three months later, a 175-pound black bear was found dead in Georgia alongside 40 opened plastic containers of cocaine. The tale became popular in the region, and the animal itself was taxidermied and is still displayed at the Kentucky Fun Mall in Lexington, Kentucky, where you can also buy “Cokey the Bear” merch. Naturally, the movie is taking a lot of liberties.
“Cocaine Bear is a ginormous risk,” Banks shared with a laugh in a new interview with Variety. “This could be a career ender for me.” She added of reading the script, “The movie flashed before my eyes.”
Cocaine Bear was written by Jimmy Warden who sent the script to Phil Lord and Christopher Miller at their production company Lord Miller. The producing duo known for The LEGO Movie and Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse ended up sharing the script with Banks.
“She had a pitch deck, and it was pretty gory,” Miller explained with a laugh. “It had a lot of body parts and internal organs in it.” He added of the script, “It was one of those things where you hear the concept and you’re like, ‘That’s interesting, but is there a real movie in it?’ … But Jimmy did a great job making it into something that would be fun – better than you’d imagine for something called Cocaine Bear.”
Cocaine Bear hits theaters on February 24th.
