Warner Bros. Discovery decided to take some of its upcoming film slate and shelve completed movies for the sake of a tax write-off. “Batgirl” was amongst the cancelled completed films, but it wasn’t the only one. Perhaps the most interesting of those shelved projects was “Coyote Vs. Acme.” It had the potential to go somewhere, and maybe it will actually have that chance.
“Coyote Vs. Acme” is an ingeniously simple premise. Anyone who’s watched a Wile E. Coyote and Road Runner cartoon knows that Wile E. gets all of his contraptions from the company, Acme. And while sometimes it’s the coyote’s own fault for not catching his adversary, a great many failed attempts fall on Acme’s products backfiring on its user. But what if Wile E. Coyote got sick of it and decided to sue? That’s where this movie comes into play. It was originally written as an article for The New Yorker in 1990 by Ian Frazier before eventually being green lit as a film back around 2018.
As the cast began to build with Will Forte as Coyote’s lawyer, and John Cena as a rival attorney for Acme who also has a past history with Forte’s character. With a screenplay co-written by DC Films co-head James Gunn, it seemed like it was going to be a win for HBO Max. Then, the aforementioned desire for tax write-offs happened, and the project was canned despite being complete.
While it seemed all hope was lost, the movie may be getting a new lease on life with Ketchup Entertainment being a source of salvation. The film distributor is reportedly working to negotiate the rights to buy the film from Warner Bros. Discovery and give it a theatrical release in 2026. Current reports indicate it could go for around $50 million, but nothing has officially confirmed yet.
We very, very, much want to see this happen. Looney Tunes are not the pop culture force that they once were, and that’s a shame. They are endearing for a reason, and it feels like this movie could be a reminder of that. If the deal gets completed, we’ll let you know. In the meantime, if you want to support Looney Tunes and Ketchup Entertainment, you can catch “The Day the Earth Blew Up: A Looney Tunes Movie” in theaters right now. It’s being distributed by Ketchup Entertainment, and it may not hurt to show them some love right now. Plus, the movie itself is getting some pretty strong reviews, so catch it (ketchup!) while you can!
