Keri Russell on Potential Return to 'Star Wars,' Reveals Why She Wanted to Work on 'Cocaine Bear' (Exclusive)

The actress spoke with ET on Tuesday at the premiere of her new action horror comedy in Los Angeles.

Keri Russell's new action horror comedy Cocaine Bear has one impressive ensemble cast. It also serves as something of a reunion of Star Wars actors -- which Russell says might not have been an coincidence.

The actress walked the red carpet at the premiere of her new action horror comedy in Los Angeles on Tuesday, and spoke with ET's Ash Crossan about the film's link to the Star Wars universe -- namely through a cast that includes her, Alden Ehrenreich and O'Shea Jackson Jr.

"There's a lot, yeah!" Russell said with a smile. "Maybe that's what [director Elizabeth Banks] was going for it by casting us! Yeah."

Ehrenreich previously starred as a young Han Solo in 2018's Solo: A Star Wars Story, while Jackson played Kawlan Roken in the Star Wars TV series Obi-Wan Kenobi. Russell, meanwhile, played an anti-hero outlaw Zorii Bliss in 2019's Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker.

Russell's Bliss managed to avoid getting killed in her installment in the saga, leaving fans wondering if they may see her again in a future tale.

The actress played coy, however, when asked about the possibility, and left the door open, simply sharing, "[It] could happen!"

As for Cocaine Bear, it also serves as something of a reunion for The Americans, as it also stars Russell's real-life love and former TV co-star Matthew Rhys. As it turns out, the celebrated actor got his part long after Russell had already been cast.

"We shot in Ireland, because the COVID numbers were low, and we were getting our family ready to go to Ireland, and I told him, 'You gotta read this [script], this is insane.' And he said, 'Text Banks, ask her who's doing that part.. text her and say I want to do it.' So I did!" Russell recalled with glee.

As for her own participation, Russell explained that she never expected to be part of a film like Cocaine Bear, but it seemed like the right time.

"Banks called me,, it was like in the middle of COVID... the whole world was broken," she remembered. "And I just thought, 'This is exactly what we should make!'"

The film -- loosely based on a real event that occurred in 1985 -- tells the story of a black bear that unwittingly consumes a duffle bag full of cocaine, and goes on a drug-fueled rampage through rural Georgia.

Meanwhile, an eclectic group of locals, tourists and drug-smuggling criminals must team up to try to survive as the body count rises quickly. Cocaine Bear tears into theaters Feb. 24.

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