Cocaine Bear: First trailer for ‘insane’ horror-comedy based on true story sparks flurry of memes

Ray Liotta stars in one of his final screen roles before his death

The trailer for Cocaine Bear has been released – and there’s a good chance it’ll be 2024’s wildest movie.

Announced in April, Cocaine Bear has prompted raised eyebrows due to its incredible premise that is, in fact, inspired by real-life events.

In September 1985, a 175lb black bear in north Georgia ingested a duffel bag of cocaine that convicted drug smuggler Andrew Thornton had abandoned.

The horror-comedy, which is directed by Pitch Perfect star Elizabeth Banks, sees the drug-fuelled animal then embark on a murderous rampage, which was not part of the true story.

In real life, the bear ingested the cocaine and subsequently overdosed. It was found three months later next to approximately 40 plastic containers of cocaine.

The first trailer for the film arrived on Thursday (1 December), prompting a number of reactions from fans – many of whom posted memes in response to the clip.

Among those memes is a photo of Parasite director Bong Joon-Ho looking pensive and saying: “To me, that’s cinema.”

A similar meme was posted of Martin Scorsese.

“Most anticipated movie of 2023 locked in,” said one person, accompanied by a photo of Tom Cruise standing by a plane subtitled: “See you at the movies.”

One person posted a picture of a bear roaring with snow on its face, with the words: “I F***ING LOVE COCAINE” written on it.

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The film stars The Americans actor Keri Russell, Margo Martindale, Alden Ehrenreich, O’Shea Jackson Jr, and Modern Family star Jesse Tyler Ferguson.

Kahyun Kim, Christian Convery, Brooklynn Prince and newcomer Scott Seiss also star.

The film is one of Liotta’s final acting roles. It is the first to be released following his death in May this year.

Cocaine Bear will be released on 23 February 2023.