Warning: This post contains major spoilers for Cocaine Bear
Cocaine Bear goes to some interesting places by the end, leaving things off in a way that suggests a sequel could happen, while also concluding the main story. Directed by Elizabeth Banks from a screenplay by Jimmy Warden, Cocaine Bear is loosely based on true events that saw a black bear ingesting 40 containers of cocaine.
The story of Cocaine Bear is pretty wild, and the filmmakers take quite a few liberties, shaping the film’s narrative around the violent rampage of the titular bear. Early reactions to Cocaine Bear indicate that it’s fun and entertaining. In the film, park rangers, tourists, drug smugglers, a nurse, and police officers intersect. They’re each targeted for attack by the Cocaine Bear at some point or another, leading to an action comedy filled with plenty of gore, violence, and absurdity. The film’s ending is conclusive, but it also leaves the door open for more.
What Happened At The End Of Cocaine Bear
Syd pushes Eddie, Daveed, and Reba to continue the search for the lost cocaine. This leads them to a cave where Sari, her daughter Dee Dee and best friend Henry are hiding. Despite Cocaine Bear still being on the hunt, Syd attempts to stave off her bear cubs in an attempt to secure another duffel bag filled with cocaine. A stand-off between Cocaine Bear and Syd ensues and, though the drug smuggler shoots the bear, she and the cubs come charging at Syd, ultimately killing him while the others escape to safety. Sari and the kids go home, and Daveed and Eddie retrieve Wade. Meanwhile, Cocaine Bear and her cubs remain alive and well.
How Cocaine Bear's Ending Fate Compares To Real Life
In Cocaine Bear, the black bear and her cubs survive, having killed many of the humans who dared to cross her path. The ending of Banks’ film gives Cocaine Bear another shot at life despite the pounds of cocaine she took, leading to a bit of a happy ending for her and her cubs. In reality, the Cocaine Bear was found dead of an overdose three months following the drop of cocaine bags from the plane of drug smuggler Andrew C. Thornton II in 1985. Surrounding the black bear were 40 opened bags of cocaine.
Why Cocaine Bear Really Attacks Humans
What drives Cocaine Bear is the need for more cocaine. She will kill to get it, especially if she sniffs it on someone. Crucially, however, Cocaine Bear seems angered by humans for becoming a victim of their drug use and illegal activity. Cocaine Bear was just minding her own business, taking care of her cubs, but is now addicted to cocaine instead and is in constant need of a fix. The animal can no longer live a normal life in the forest, and Cocaine Bear’s anger has made way for revenge.
The creature seeks out any human that gets in the way of procuring cocaine, and lashing out at those who are simply there — regardless of whether obtaining more cocaine is involved. To be sure, the humans’ mismanagement of the cocaine is to blame for Cocaine Bear going feral, and it’s possible the attacks are a way to punish them for their crimes. Cocaine Bear wouldn’t have gone after them otherwise, and would have continued living a quiet life.
Why Cocaine Bear Didn’t Kill Dee Dee
Dee Dee is the only character in Cocaine Bear who is physically attacked and lives to tell the tale. Dee Dee is able to flee from the attack and get to safety, leaving a trail for her mother to follow to find her. It’s possible that Cocaine Bear, realizing Dee Dee was still a child, was reminded of her own cubs and let her go. Even the cubs themselves didn’t hurt Dee Dee, as though the entire bear family realized she had nothing to do with anything that was going on. Dee Dee might’ve also successfully fought off Cocaine Bear and fled, forcing the animal to go hunt someone else.
Why Reba Betrayed Detective Bob
Officer Reba wasrevealed to be working with Syd, likely feeding him information regarding the whereabouts of the cocaine and other leads Detective Bob passed along. Bob was really hurt by Reba’s betrayal — he trusted her as a fellow officer, believing she wanted to catch the drug smugglers like he did. But Reba was looking out for herself, likely having been promised a cut of the money if the drugs were delivered to Syd’s bosses. It’s possible Reba had been working with Syd for a long time before the Cocaine Bear incident, and being an officer was just a means to get information so that he never got caught smuggling drugs.
How Did Cocaine Bear Survive After Being Shot?
Syd was able to shoot Cocaine Bear a couple of times (at the very least) and, while she went down, a whiff of cocaine rejuvenated her, though the bullets and the fall off the cliff should have killed the animal. Cocaine Bear isn’t particular about sticking to the facts, so in this instance, it’s possible there was just so much cocaine in her system that it ramped up the bear’s adrenaline, going so far as to push the bullets out of her body on the climb up. Cocaine Bear should have died, but the cocaine is what ultimately drives the animal throughout Elizabeth Banks’ film, and some bullets weren’t about to stop it.
Why Syd Wanted Eddie Back In The Drug Business (After Leaving It Behind)
Eddie is frustrated with his father for the majority of Cocaine Bear. Syd wants Eddie to work with him again because it’s the family business, but it’s also likely he didn’t want to do the job alone and didn’t trust anyone (besides Daveed) to do it. Drug smuggling seems like a lonely business, and Syd didn’t have too many people on his side. Syd also believed Eddie leaving the family business behind to have a family made him “soft.” To Syd, returning to a life of drug smuggling would make Eddie remember what it was to be tough. It was Syd’s twisted way of caring, even though his persistence pushed Eddie away even more.
Will Syd’s Crime Bosses Go After Eddie & Daveed?
Syd heavily implies that if he doesn’t collect the remaining cocaine, which is worth $14 million per duffle bag, the Colombian drug dealers he works for will come after him, Eddie, and Eddie’s son Wade. While Syd dies at the end of the film, Eddie and Daveed return home to Wade. There’s no doubt, however, that Syd’s bosses are off somewhere seething that so much of the cocaine was lost. Their anger could very well lead to Eddie and Daveed being hunted. After all, they’re the only ones besides Syd who were involved, and the crime bosses would know to target Eddie and his son, at the very least.
The only way out for Eddie and Daveed is if they flee along with Wade, disappear off the grid so that they’re not easily found, and wait for the whole thing to blow over. It’s also possible that once Syd’s bosses catch wind of what happened with Cocaine Bear, they’ll think Eddie and Daveed were also casualties of the animal attack. Officer Reba could write up a fake report detailing Eddie and Daveed’s “deaths” at the hands of Cocaine Bear, giving them a clean slate and ensuring no one comes after them. With the catastrophic events, it’s not hard to believe Eddie and Daveed died alongside Syd while trying to get the cocaine.
How Cocaine Bear Sets Up A Sequel
The action comedy’s ending finds Cocaine Bear and her cubs alive and well, still feral from the cocaine. Considering Cocaine Bear doesn’t die, Elizabeth Banks cleverly sets up a sequel for more forest shenanigans, and the ending suggests the animal will go on to kill even more people. There’s also the teen O'Shea Jackson Jr. and Alden Ehrenreich's characters worked with to find the cocaine. He got away and took a duffel bag full of the drug with him. While hitchhiking, he nearly leaves the bag in the back with a bunch of sheep while hitchhiking before remembering to remove it lest they ingest the cocaine.
This moment, which comes as Cocaine Bear’s mid-credits scene, hints that more animals besides Cocaine Bear could go on a killing spree eventually. This sets up an exciting future for Cocaine Bear, and screenwriter Jimmy Warden has hinted he has plenty of ideas for potential sequels, including Cocaine Bear in Space. The sequel could also include more of Cocaine Bear’s cubs, too, as they’ve also taken cocaine and look about ready to attack at the end of the film.
The Real Meaning Of Cocaine Bear’s Ending
Cocaine Bear touches upon the theme of man vs. nature. Cocaine Bear going after the humans shows, despite mankind being at the top of the food chain, that it’s not always the case. Animals can still kill and injure people, especially when the latter is out in the wild. Crucially, Cocaine Bear asserts that the excess of humanity wreaks havoc, creating situations that are — unintentionally or not — harmful to nature and the creatures in it. After all, Cocaine Bear wouldn’t have become addicted if the pilot hadn’t dropped bags of cocaine into the wilderness. The film is surely fun, but it really leans into the harm inflicted on the bear and its negative impact.