Cocaine Bear Director Elizabeth Banks Would Love to Make a Sequel

07/31/2023 08:46 pm EDT

Cocaine Bear was a solid success for Universal early in the year, earning about three times what it cost to produce throughout its theatrical run. Given that it made money, fans of Cocaine Bear have already wondered if the action comedy — which is shockingly based on a true story — could get the sequel treatment at some point in the future. While there doesn't seem to be any public traction on that front, director Elizabeth Banks would love to step behind the camera for a second Cocaine Bear movie.

Banks, who directed the film for Universal, recently spoke to Rolling Stone and was asked about the possibility of making another Cocaine Bear. She opened up about how much fun the first one was to make, and how she'd absolutely take the chance to do it again.

"I loved how subversive, crazy, silly and funny it was," Banks said. "I loved surprising people with the cast. I don't think anybody was expecting Margot Martindale, who's 70 years old, to shoot that kid. We had a lot of fun, and if I got the opportunity to surprise the audience and delight myself again, I would take it."

Banks went on to say that Cocaine Bear was a great project for her because, in addition to being a good time, it checked a lot of personal boxes for her.

"I've been very fortunate to work across a lot of genres and things that appeal to me," she added. "Cocaine Bear also came to me during the pandemic. We were all locked away, and I loved the sense of fun inside of it. It was what I wanted to see. And it had this message about mankind's culpability in nature's demise. It spoke to me on a lot of levels."

Cocaine Bear Sets Up a Sequel

There hasn't been any official conversation about a Cocaine Bear sequel just yet, but there is a slight setup for another movie at the end of the film. Speaking to ComicBook.com, Wētā FX supervisor Robin Hollander revealed how Cocaine Bear plants the seeds for a second adventure.

"I do like in the movie how they tease at a sequel when Stache, the guy played by Aaron Holliday, hitchhikes out and he puts the bag in the back with all the sheep," he told us. "I love that bit because the audience is like, 'Oh, okay, okay. I see where there is going.'"

"There was a few little discussion points as they were sort of redesigning the sort of outro scenes in how we could tease a sequel. I have no idea if there is an interest in making a sequel," Hollander added. "Obviously, we'd love to be involved because it was hands-down the funnest project that I've ever we've been involved in. But I think there's a lot of options for animals and drugs and yeah, it's a niche market that needs more exploring, I think."