Yes, ‘Cocaine Bear’ is based on the true story of a bear who ate way too much cocaine

If you’ve just seen the bonkers trailer for Cocaine Bear, you might be wondering about that dubious-sounding “inspired by true events” claim that flashes on the screen.

The premise is very real, and you will be surprised at how true it is. As hinted by the title, Elizabeth Banks’s action-comedy tells the story of a black bear who eats several packages of cocaine that had been accidentally airdropped into a Georgia forest in a botched smuggling operation. The bear goes on a rampage, causing havoc for the local population. The late Ray Liotta , a drug smuggler, searches the wilderness for the missing stash. They don’t realize they could become bear food.

Fortunately for the good people of Blue Ridge, GA., the real version of the story is less gruesome. In 1985, investigators searching for drugs dropped by an airborne smuggler discovered the ripped-up remnants of cocaine packages in Georgia’s Chattahoochee-Oconee National Forest. Each of the 40 packages reportedly held a kilogram of cocaine, or about 88 pounds in all, valued to be worth as much as $20 million at the time.

Nearby, they also found a large and dead black bear that had apparently taken the cocaine. According to an Associated Press article from the time, officials believed the bear had eaten “several million dollars worth of the cocaine.

” The bear got to it before us, and he tore open the duffel bag, got him some cocaine, and OD’d. Gary Garner, of the Georgia Bureau of Investigation, told the outlet.

“There’s nothing left but bones and a big hide,” he added of the bear.

What happened between the time the bear took the cocaine and when investigators found the body of the bear is unknown. However, it is likely that the animal died quickly after a multi-million-dollar high. There is no evidence that he terrorized the locals with a murderous rampage. To find out how millions of dollars of cocaine ended up in a national park, the packages were believed to be the last remnants of a shipment Andrew Thornton, an American lawyer and narcotics officer, had taken on a smuggling trip from Columbia. After dropping packages of cocaine out of the plane near Blairsville, GA, Thorton put Cessna on autopilot and parachuted out with 77 more pounds of cocaine strapped to his body. Thorton probably misjudged the weight of the parachute or got tangled up in the wires. However, he died in his driveway in Knoxville, Tenn. Investigators discovered the keys to a Cessna plane that had crashed into a mountain in North Carolina on Thorton’s body. Days later, “clothes, maps of Jamaica, and a pilot’s logbook bearing the Cessna’s number” were discovered about 30 miles south of Atlanta.

The Cocaine Bear trailer offers a look at the not-so-organized crime team behind the lost cocaine, including Liotta’s Dentwood, O’Shea Jackson Jr.’s Howard, and Alden Ehrenreich’s Marty. Although the backwoods of Georgia may not seem like a place for mob activity but Thorton, a Kentucky resident, was a skilled criminal in the area. He even led a local drug smuggling organization called The Company. When his body was found, he reportedly had on a bulletproof vest, Gucci loafers, night vision goggles, and a green army duffel bag containing roughly another $15 million worth of cocaine, $4,500 in cash, 2.8 grams of gold Krugerrands, knives, and two pistols. Thorton’s life story is worthy of its own movie, with his death already inspiring a story arc on season 4 of FX’s Justified.

Cocaine Bear also stars Game of Thrones‘ Kristofer Hivju, Jesse Tyler Ferguson, Ice Cube, Matthew Rhys, and Margo Martindale. Banks is directing, with a script written by Jimmy Warden (Netfilx’s The Babysitter: Killer Queen) and produced by Phil Lord and Chris Miller (The Lego Movie).

Line up to see Cocaine Bear in theaters on Feb. 24, 2023.

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