Why Warner Bros. Scrapped Coyote Vs. Acme, How It Got Released & What It Means For Hollywood

Published Aug 27, 2026, 9:30 PM EDT Since 2019, Kevin Erdmann has been one of Screen Rant's Senior Staff Writers, covering all kinds of Superhero and Star Wars media with Easter egg breakdowns, theory pieces, breaking news, and more. A huge Star Wars & MCU fan, Kevin also loves Batman (because he's Batman), but could talk for hours about why Nightwing is DC's greatest hero. With 8 years of total experience covering entertainment and pop culture, Kevin has gotten the chance to interview top creatives and talent, and has also attended major media events like Disney's D23 convention. Majoring in Cinema Studies with a minor in Comics and Cartoon Studies from the UofO, Kevin lives in Oregon with his wonderful wife, adorable dog, and sinister cat who is no doubt currently plotting his demise. For quite some time, it looked as though Warner Bros.' Coyote VS ACME was destined to be yet another casualty of corporate greed in Hollywood. Despite being a fully completed film with popular stars, the latest Looney Tunes animated/live-action hybrid was shelved by Warner Bros a few years back, with all signs suggesting that it would never see the light of day. And yet, Coyote VS ACME is now playing in theaters following a truly wild off-screen journey that remarkably mirrors what will indeed be seen on-screen. The newest Looney Tunes movie was not a rejected concept or half-finished project that faced production issues. Starring Will Forte, John Cena, and Lana Condor, Dave Green's Coyote VS ACME was a fully completed feature ready for theaters when Warner Bros. chose not to release it, despite spending millions to make the film in the first place. The result of a recent merger, Coyote VS ACME was part of an entire wave of cancelled projects from Warner Bros a few years back, a decision that's rightfully still facing backlash to this day. Keeping that in mind, here's how Coyote VS ACME is now playing in theaters all the same, and why it was so close to being buried for good. How Much Of Coyote Vs. Acme Was Completed When It Was Cancelled? Coyote VS ACME was inspired by the classic Looney Tunes cartoons starring Wile E. Coyote and Road Runner, and more specifically, a humorous piece in The New Yorker from the 1990s written by Ian Frazier, which imagined Wile E. Coyote suing the Acme Corporation for all the times he's purchased their products to help catch Road Runner, only for the equipment to routinely backfire in his face. Back in 2015, an adaptation was pitched by none other than James Gunn, now one of the heads of DC Studios. 2018 then saw writers Jon and Josh Silberman hired along with director Dave Green. John Cena, Will Forte, and Lana Condor were brought on to lead the human cast, while the titular Coyote was brought to life via animation along with several other classic characters, just like in past Looney Tunes hybrid films like the Space Jam movies and the highly underrated Looney Tunes: Back in Action. Although a Summer 2023 release was given to Coyote VS ACME in 2022, WB ultimately pulled the movie from its date in favor of Greta Gerwig's Barbie movie. Finally, it was late 2023 when Warner Bros. chose to shelve the movie completely despite being 100% completed, resulting in major backlash from within the industry and audiences alike, especially due to the reason it was being done: tax write-offs. WB Cancelled Coyote Vs. Acme & Other Movies For Tax Write-Offs Coyote VS ACME was one of several projects to get caught in a major post-merger cost-cutting initiative. Following the Warner Bros./Discovery merger, new CEO David Zaslav promised around $3 billion in immediate "synergies," essentially referring to major cost savings and efficiencies like layoffs, significant restructuring, and most prominently, the controversial decision to shelve completed or nearly completed movies, seeing these movies as nothing more than financial corporate assets than actual pieces of creative art meant to be seen by the public. Beyond Coyote VS ACME, other infamously canceled projects around this time included the DCEU's Batgirl starring Leslie Grace in the titular role alongside Brendan Fraser as the villain Firefly, J.K. Simmons as Jim Gordon, and Michael Keaton returning as Batman. Both Scoob! Holiday Haunt and Scooby-Doo! And the Haunted High Rise were caught in the tax write-off crossfire and were also shelved. The cold accounting logic was that rather than spending additional money to market and distribute these films, WB could simply take the tax benefits by abandoning the projects altogether, never to be released. However, these were movies people had spent months and years of their lives creating to be seen by the public, leading to increasing backlash to the point where the dam essentially broke with Coyote VS ACME. How Much Ketchup Entertainment Paid For Coyote Vs. Acme Overall, the backlash against Warner Bros.' decision to shelve Coyote VS ACME was HUGE. Filmmakers, cast members, industry figures, fans, and film lovers in general all criticized the decision to bury a completed movie rather than allowing another distributor to purchase and distribute it. There were even reports of directors canceling their meetings with Warner Bros. due to the justified concern that any movies they made for them might end up never being seen. Thanks to all the public pressure and backlash, Warner Bros. allowed Coyote VS ACME to be shopped around, and Ketchup Entertainment ultimately stepped forward, purchasing the worldwide distribution rights for about $50 million. As such, the fact that another company was willing to purchase the rights proves burying it was not the only possible financial outcome on WB's part. As of this week, the movie is finally playing in theaters, now possessing an impressive real-life underdog story to mirror the one told on-screen with Wile E. Coyote fighting the Acme suits. Could Other Cancelled Movies Be Released After Coyote Vs. Acme? ©Ketchup Entertainment/Courtesy Everett Collection Although it's incredibly exciting that audiences will finally be able to see Coyote VS ACME, its resurrection probably shouldn't be taken as a sign that Warner Bros. will start reviving/selling its other shelved movies anytime soon. Although Scoob! Holiday Haunt was fully finished like Coyote VS ACME, Batgirl and Scooby-Doo! and the Haunted High Rise were still in the midst of their respective post-productions. However, trying to revive any of them years later would still require the complex process of reversing set financial cases and finding new distributors, something Warner Bros. more than likely won't care to do, even in the off-chance that public pressures grow once more. Likewise, there was an ongoing narrative from WB insiders who were adamant that Batgirl was considered "unreleasable" in its existing form. However, it's hard to know exactly how much weight to put behind that argument, given that the movie was unfinished when it was shelved, especially given the ulterior agenda of seeking a tax write-off due to corporate promises made. Coyote VS ACME had the advantage of immediate public pressure and backlash. Recreating that same level of momentum for these other shelved movies three or four years later would be pretty difficult, no matter how much we may still want to see them. Then again, anything's possible, especially considering the significant period of time when it seemed Coyote VS ACME would never be seen either. Perhaps the potential success and positive reception to this new Looney Tunes movie can help reignite the conversation. Coyote VS ACME is now playing in theaters from Ketchup Entertainment. Release Date August 28, 2026 Runtime 101 Minutes Director Dave Green Writers Samy Burch, Jeremy Slater, James Gunn Producers Christopher DeFaria, James Gunn