Judd Apatow and Steven Spielberg to answer the eternal question: Coke or Pepsi?

We’ve all been wondering what the next big capitalism origin story film would be, and now we have our answer: Cola Wars, directed by Judd Apatow and produced by none other than Steven Spielberg. The film has been in development since April, when Sony picked up the pitch for a reported $1 million, per Deadline. Writers Jason Shuman (co-creator of Acapulco) and Ben Queen (creator of A To Z and Powerless) are attached to the project. Deadline delightfully notes that “Queen is a Coke guy, while Shuman prefers Pepsi.”

According to a synopsis from the trade publication, Cola Wars will follow “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).”

The capitalism origin story is a time-honored tradition, but there does seem to have been a proliferation lately. So far, the 2020s have seen movies or limited series about WeWork, Uber, Nike’s Air Jordans, Tetris, the Blackberry, Flaming Hot Cheetos, and Beanie Babies. The capitalism origin story is not necessarily always factually accurate; Jerry Seinfeld, for instance, just completely made something up when he wrote Unfrosted, a similar tale of corporate rivalry about the innovation of the Pop-Tart. With Apatow’s name attached, you might also reasonably expect this capitalism origin story to have a comedic bent (though given the reception of Unfrosted, we wouldn’t recommend following too closely in Seinfeld’s footsteps). Having Spielberg’s Amblin Entertainment attached, though, does give this capitalism origin story a sheen of prestige. Hey, if you are going to shill a big product movie, at least let it be awards season bait!