‘Cocaine Bear’ writer understandably thought the movie would never get made

Cocaine Bear screenwriter Jimmy Warden recently opened up about why he felt this project would never see the light of day. 

The film, scheduled to be released in theaters this week, follows a group of individuals that come together to take down a black bear that goes on a killing spree after consuming cocaine. Cocaine Bear stars the late Ray Liotta, Keri Russell, Margo Martindale, Matthew Rhys, O’Shea Jackson Jr., Jesse Tyler Ferguson, Kristofer Hivju, and others.

During an interview with Variety, Warden shared he thought the movie would be shelved because a “respectable” production studio would combat his creativity by either changing Cocaine Bear‘s name or parts of the script. He said,

“I guess I wouldn’t say ‘respectable studio.’ I’m not sure it’s the right narrative, but that is kind of the truth. It was maybe going to get me some attention that people would read on tracking boards, possibly? Or just another spec that I would just throw on the pile of many that no one ever reads. I’m not sure if this is the best thing for me to say from a publicity perspective, but I don’t really care. The truth is, no, I didn’t think that any respectable studio would make a movie called Cocaine Bear and keep all the sh*t that I had written.”

Also, in the interview, the screenwriter revealed why he named the film Cocaine Bear. Warden told the publication that the sole reason behind the title after he wrote the script was to create some shock value that would be engrained in moviegoers’ minds for a moment. While mentioning how Universal Studios — the production company that is releasing Cocaine Bear — didn’t change the name despite the feedback they could have received from the public, Warden stated,

“When you have a script, you want to do anything to get people to read it. So there was never any question in my mind that the movie would be called Cocaine Bear. I think that if you asked me back then I would have been like, if it ever gets made, I assume people are probably going to want to change the name. But Universal never did.”

With the upcoming theatrical release of Cocaine Bear, many have expressed their opinions online regarding the horror. As previously reported, Reddit users’ reviews of the film were split. Although a handful of individuals suggest Cocaine Bear will be nothing short of a comedy given its theme, others claim the movie won’t be good. 

Cocaine Bear is set to debut in theaters on Feb. 24.