Elizabeth Banks Heads Back to College to Produce Feature Comedy ‘Betas’ for Universal (EXCLUSIVE)

Elizabeth Banks is returning to the stomping grounds that cemented her as a career producer and box office draw: the rowdy college comedy.

Banks’ Brownstone Productions will mount “Betas,” a film set in the viral world of sorority rush culture. Sammi Cohen (“You’re So Not Invited to My Bat Mitzvah”) will direct the project from a script by Ilana Wolpert (“Anyone But You”).

Banks, whose “Pitch Perfect” franchise revitalized the campus genre and scored close to $600 million at the worldwide box office, was the rush chair for her own sorority (Tri Delta) at the University of Pennsylvania.

Banks, Max Handelman and Alison Small will produce via Brownstone. Kimberly Carver (HBO Max’s “Julia”) will executive produce. The distributor and production timeline are still unknown.

Brownstone enjoys first-look deals at both Universal Pictures and Universal Television. Earlier this year, Variety reported that Banks and Handelman will produce “Pitch Perfect: K-Pop Idols” for Peacock, yet another spinoff from the a capella world. Brownstone is also developing the series “Crush” from writer and executive producer Addison McQuigg at Peacock. The show is said to be inspired by the 1995 episode of “The Jenny Jones Show” titled “Revealing Same-Sex Secret Crushes.” The logline states that it is “set within the insane world of tabloid talk shows, weaving together a poignant tale of ambition, heartbreak and murder.” The company previously produced Banks’ 2019 take on “Charlie’s Angels,” the gonzo horror hit “Cocaine Bear” and series like Aidy Bryant’s “Shrill” for Hulu.

Screenwriter Wolpert is repped at UTA and Ginsburg Daniels Kallis LLP. Cohen is repped at UTA, Range and Jackoway Austen. Carver is with Myman, Greenspan, Fox. Brownstone is repped by UTA, Untitled Entertainment and Johnson Shapiro Slewett & Kole.