Steven Spielberg may be best known for his wartime epics, but his next focus will be the corporate battle between Pepsi and Coke during the 1970s and 1980s.

The legendary director has reportedly agreed to produce Cola Wars, a film in development at Sony that covers Pepsi’s attempts to dislodge Coca-Cola as the world’s No.1 soft drink brand that also has Judd Apatow attached to direct, according to Deadline.

The script was purchased by Sony for $1 million after veteran writers Jason Shuman and Ben Queen penned it.

The film will be the first time that Spielberg, who directed Saving Private Ryan, Jaws and Schindler’s List, and Apatow have collaborated.

Judd Apatow is best known for his comedy films The 40-Year-Old Virgin and Knocked Up. Photo: Getty

Spielberg is officially confirmed to next direct a film slated for release in May 2026, although details about the project remain secretive.

He previously stated he had always wanted to make a war movie before Saving Private Ryan.

“I’ve always wanted to make a war movie, and I had a chance to make a realistic war movie, as opposed to an apocryphal Hollywood war movie,” he said.

“Actually, I was beating away the impulses to go Hollywood.”

He has produced three television wartime epics: Band of Brothers, The Pacific and Masters of the Air.

The Cola Wars

Despite this affinity for films and television centred around battlefield conflict, Cola Wars will examine the tumultuous period when Pepsi challenged Coca-Cola as America and the world’s favourite soft drink.

In this period, beginning in the 1970s and heating up in the 1980s, Coca-Cola launches New Coke, a formula that was universally panned, and the Pepsi Challenge advertising campaign threatened to give Pepsi a majority market share.

The battle between the two companies continued into the 1990s, but early information about the film claims that it will mostly cover the 1980s.

Corporate history?

The most famous and successful corporate biopic is David Fincher’s 2010 film The Social Network, although other films have failed to catch lightning in a bottle.

The critical and commercial success may have kicked off the trend, but the films that have followed it have struggled to find an audience.

Several recent films recounting corporate power struggles and history have been well received, but have so far failed to make a dent at the box office.

Air, starring Matt Damon and Ben Affleck as Nike executives negotiating a Michael Jordan endorsement, grossed $US90 million ($134 million), but failed to make back its marketing and production budget.

Blackberry, a film detailing the rise and fall of the once-world-leading mobile phone device, was adored by critics, but also was a commercial failure.

Other films in this category include The Founder, about McDonald’s co-founder Ray Kroc, and Tetris, detailing the creation of the world-famous game.

Another, Jerry Seinfeld’s directorial debut about the creator of Pop Tarts titled Unfrosted, was released on Netflix earlier in the year with a $US70 million budget, but got poor reviews from critics.