Steven Spielberg & Judd Apatow Team Up for Epic Coke vs. Pepsi Film

Iconic filmmaker Steven Spielberg has unveiled his next feature film, Cola Wars, which has been in development at Sony Pictures under his label, Amblin Entertainment. The film follows the attempt by Pepsi to challenge Coca-Cola for the soda throne during the 1980s. Spielberg is producing the movie, while Judd Apatow, known for his work on The 40-Year-Old Virgin and Girls, is on board as director.

As Deadline reported in April 2024, Sony spent over $1 million on the project, with Jason Shuman and Ben Queen writing the pitch. While Shuman co-created the hit Apple TV series Acapulco and executive produced HBO’s Winning Time: The Rise of the Lakers Dynasty, Queen is well-known for his scripts for Cars 2, 3, and NBC’s A to Z. Since the project is still in the early stages of development, no cast members have been announced, nor has the first look been presented. However, it should be fairly similar to Amazon Studios’ Air, which recounted an identical story about Nike trying to land a shoe deal with Michael Jordan for their sneaker line, with Matt Damon and Ben Affleck acting as the company’s staff members.

Sony spent over $1 million on the project, with Jason Shuman and Ben Queen writing the pitch.

Even though the project is in capable hands with Judd Apatow as the director, many might wonder why Spielberg didn’t take it on. Well, Spielberg is more of a visionary director who loves creating groundbreaking science-fiction films such as Ready Player One and War of the Worlds. Following his most recent project, The Fablemans, which was released in 2022, Spielberg is gearing up to return to the director’s chair with a film that is centered on UFOs and Aliens, although no story details have been revealed.

Cola Wars Takes Viewers Back to the 1980s

The film digs into the feud between Pepsi and Coca-Cola, where the former sought to overthrow competition despite the latter’s century-long dominance in the soda pop industry. In particular, the conflict reached its peak during the 1980s. As a result, the upcoming film will highlight the events that took place during that time period.

While this is certainly not the first film inspired by a real-life product, as films like Flamin’ Hot and Air have previously taken the industry by storm due to the product’s popularity, the history of Cola wars can be traced back to the early 1900s, when the two companies began introducing new advertising campaigns. It was also reported that the Cola Wars film will focus specifically on those events.

For instance, when filming a Pepsi commercial in 1984, the iconic pop artist Michael Jackson lit his hair on fire, resulting in some scalp and facial burns. Despite the fast response of the surrounding personnel, Jackson received third-degree burns. There was also Coca-Cola’s disastrous rebranding incident (New Coke) in 1985, in response to “Pepsi Challenge,” which resulted in a botched attempt that upset many of the company’s loyal customers.

The Cola wars continue to this day, with both corporations fiercely fighting and coming up with new innovations to outperform their rivals. Despite the ever-changing market and a decrease in domestic sales, Coca-Cola remains the market leader, with Pepsi occupying the second position as the valued soft drink brand.

There is currently no release date for Cola Wars.

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