In Hollywood, the path from pitch to premiere is usually straightforward: develop an idea, secure the money, shoot the film, and send it to audiences. But “Coyote vs. Acme” took a far stranger route. The Warner Bros. project was completed, shelved, and seemingly left for dead before finally landing a 2026 release. Watch the video for the full breakdown, then read on for how this unlikely comeback happened.
Inspired by Ian Frazier’s satirical New Yorker piece about Looney Tunes icon Wile E. Coyote suing the Acme Corporation over its notoriously useless products, “Coyote vs. Acme” turns a classic cartoon gag into a courtroom comedy. Will Forte stars as Kevin Avery, a billboard-famous attorney who catches Wile E.’s eye, while John Cena plays Buddy Crane, Acme’s slick legal representative and a man with ties to Kevin’s past. Blending live action with animation in the tradition of “Who Framed Roger Rabbit?,” “Space Jam,” and “Looney Tunes: Back in Action,” the movie is more than a nostalgic curiosity. It is, by many accounts, genuinely terrific.
That only makes Warner Bros.’ attempt to bury the film more puzzling. Interest in the premise stretches back decades; according to The New York Times, Frazier’s original New Yorker story was published in 1990. Still, the project spent years trapped in development limbo, in part because Warner Bros. repeatedly resisted granting access to the Looney Tunes characters. Even James Gunn, before his eventual rise to co-lead DC Studios, reportedly tried to pitch his own version in 2015 and was turned down. The movie finally moved forward in 2022, when director David Green shot “Coyote vs. Acme” in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Then came another twist: its planned July 2023 release date was handed to “Barbie,” leaving the film’s future suddenly uncertain.
Warner Bros. canceled Coyote vs. Acme, another studio swooped in, and the rest is hilarious history
Ketchup Entertainment
By November 2023, Warner Bros. announced it would cancel the release altogether, placing “Coyote vs. Acme” in the middle of a troubling industry pattern: studios scrapping completed films before audiences ever get a chance to see them. Warner Bros. had already drawn outrage for shelving Leslie Grace’s “Batgirl,” and “Coyote vs. Acme” appeared headed for the same fate. The move came during David Zaslav’s tenure at the top of Warner Bros. Discovery, where aggressive cost-cutting became a defining strategy. Treating the film as a tax write-off, rather than releasing it, reportedly became part of that approach.
Thankfully, the team behind “Coyote vs. Acme” didn’t take this lying down. Director David Green posted an emotional appeal on the social media platform X (formerly known as Twitter), which was shared by fans hoping to see the film eventually … and Will Forte also spoke out on X and lamented the loss of this project. Even Texas representative Joaquin Castro spoke out on the platform, saying, “The [Warner Bros. Discovery] tactic of scrapping fully made films for tax breaks is predatory and anti-competitive. As the Justice Department and [the Federal Trade Commission] revise their antitrust guidelines they should review this conduct. As someone remarked, it’s like burning down a building for the insurance money.”
The rescue came from Ketchup Entertainment, the non-theatrical partner of Open Road Films, the company behind titles including the Oscar-winning “Spotlight.” Ketchup acquired “Coyote vs. Acme” in 2024, a decision The Hollywood Reporter described as a “massive gamble.” So far, that bet has paid off with strong reactions from critics and audiences, though the box office picture will become clearer after the weekend. Thanks to Ketchup, “Coyote vs. Acme” is now playing in theaters.
