The Complete Coyote Vs. Acme Controversy Explained

Typically, the movie-making process is somewhat simple. People come up with an idea, get financing, and make a movie so that it can be released to the general public. So what the heck happened with "Coyote vs. Acme," which was shelved by Warner Bros. before finally getting a 2026 release? Watch our video to find out, and keep reading along.

Based on a New Yorker satire article about the Looney Tunes character Wile E. Coyote trying to sue the fictional Acme company for selling him a bunch of junk that never worked against his nemesis the Roadrunner, "Coyote vs. Acme" casts comedy heavyweight Will Forte as Kevin Avery, a lawyer whose face frequently appears on billboards and catches Wile E.'s attention and wrestler turned actor John Cena as the Acme Corporation's lawyer Buddy Crane, with whom Kevin has history. A phenomenally fun hybrid of live-action and cartoons in the style of "Who Framed Roger Rabbit?" and "Space Jam" and "Looney Tunes: Back in Action," "Coyote vs. Acme" isn't just good. It's great. 

So why did Warner Bros. try to shove this deeply fun movie into the bin before it could ever come out? Even though interest in this particular idea goes back decades — because, per The New York Times, Ian Frazier's New Yorker entry ran in 1990 — but it floated around in development hell when Warner Bros. frequently refused to allow the Looney Tunes characters to be used. (Even then-future DC head honcho James Gunn pitched it for himself in 2015 and was turned down.) Finally, in 2022, director David Green filmed "Coyote vs. Acme" in Albuquerque, New Mexico ... and when its planned July 2023 release slot went to "Barbie" instead, the future of the film was suddenly threatened. 

When Warner Bros. announced in November of 2023 that they were canceling the planned release of "Coyote vs. Acme," it continued a disturbing trend of studios straight-up trashing already filmed movies (the same thing happened to Leslie Grace's "Batgirl" movie in 2023, also under the purview of Warner Bros.). All of this was thanks to David Zaslav, who took over the merged company Warner Bros. Discovery in 2021, who loved so-called "cost-cutting measures" — and using "Coyote vs. Acme" as a tax write-off that would never actually see the light of day apparently appealed to Zaslav.

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." 

So who saved the day? Ketchup Entertainment, the non-theatrical partner of Open Road Films (which made, among other films, the Oscar winner "Spotlight"). Ketchup picked "Coyote vs. Acme" up in 2024, and even though The Hollywood Reporter called the move a "massive gamble," it paid off with critics and audiences ... and after the weekend, we'll know about the box office results. "Coyote vs. Acme," thanks to Ketchup, is in theaters now.