‘Cola Wars’: Judd Apatow And Steven Spielberg Team For Film About Coke & Pepsi’s War For Soda Supremacy

Are you a Coke or a Pepsi person? Is there anyone who likes both equally? That’d be madness. The war between the two cola brands is decades old and cutthroat, and it’s about to become a feature film from Judd Apatow…and Steven Spielberg?

Deadline reports that Judd Apatow will direct Cola Wars, with Spielberg aboard to produce through his Amblin banner. The Sony film will chart the battle between Coke and Pepsi for soda dominance in the 1980s.

According to the report, the film tells the “true story of Pepsi’s attempt to challenge Coca-Cola’s century-long reign as the world’s top cola. It uncapped the “Cola Wars” of the mid-1980s, which included everything from Michael Jackson’s fiery mishap to the New Coke debacle, as the ultimate underdog tale of history’s most iconic second-place contender (Pepsi) vying for the No. 1 spot (Coca-Cola).”

This will be Apatow’s first film since he directed 2022’s disastrous flop, The Bubble.  Remember that one? He’ll direct from a script by Jason Shuman (Acapulco) and Ben Queen (Cars 2). Before this, Apatow was behind several hit comedies including The 40-Year-Old Virgin, Knocked Up, and Trainwreck.

Add Cola Wars to the recent trend of iconic product-based dramas such as Air, Blackberry, and Flamin’ Hot.

Travis Hopson
Travis Hopson has been reviewing movies before he even knew there was such a thing. Having grown up on a combination of bad '80s movies, pro wrestling, comic books, and hip-hop, Travis is uniquely positioned to geek out on just about everything under the sun. A vampire who walks during the day and refuses to sleep, Travis is the co-creator and lead writer for Punch Drunk Critics. He is also a contributor to Good Morning Washington, WBAL Morning News, and WETA Around Town. In the five minutes a day he's not working, Travis is also a voice actor, podcaster, and Twitch gamer. Travis is a voting member of the Critics Choice Association (CCA), Washington DC Area Film Critics Association (WAFCA), and Late Night programmer for the Lakefront Film Festival.