AceShowbiz - Sony Pictures announces that Judd Apatow has signed on to direct "Cola Wars," a film depicting the intense rivalry between Coca-Cola and Pepsi in the 1980s. Acclaimed filmmaker Steven Spielberg will produce the project through his Amblin Entertainment banner.

Jason Shuman, co-creator of Apple TV+'s "Acapulco," and Ben Queen, co-writer of "Cars 3," are penning the screenplay. The film will chronicle Pepsi's challenge to Coca-Cola's longstanding dominance in the soda industry, which culminated in Coke's disastrous "New Coke" experiment.

The project is currently in its early stages of development, with Sony having acquired the film as a pitch in April 2024. Apatow recently directed the 2022 Netflix comedy "The Bubble" and the HBO documentary "George Carlin's American Dream."

"Cola Wars" follows the trend of recent corporate-themed movies such as Amazon Studios' "Air" (2023), about the battle to land Michael Jordan's sneaker deal for Nike, and Jerry Seinfeld's "Unfrosted" (2023), which focused on the rivalry between cereal giants Post and Kellogg's.

Sony exec Maia Eyre will oversee production while Apatow is repped by WME and Mosaic, and Spielberg by CAA. Shuman and Queen are represented by Verve and managed by Jon Huddle at Fourth Wall.