Warner Bros axed this Looney Tunes movie. But fans refused to accept defeat

Will Forte could not have been prouder of Coyote vs Acme . The live-action animation hybrid, in which a disgruntled Wile E. Coyote and his lawyer (played by Forte) face off against John Cena in a chaotic courtroom battle, was one of the most entertaining – and heartwarming – projects he’d worked on. His wife, after watching it for the first time, even told him it was hands-down the best thing he’d ever done.

So it’s safe to say that its inexplicable axing in 2023 sent Forte into a head-spin.

“This was a movie that I wanted so badly to share with my kids, but [I realised] I was never going to get to. It was confusing, frustrating and heartbreaking. I was just pissed,” said the American actor and comedian, who is known for his stint on Saturday Night Live and, more recently, Tina Fey’s The Four Seasons .

Coyote vs Acme , Dave Green’s absurd comedy in the vein of Who Framed Roger Rabbit , was ready to hit screens when it was suddenly shelved by Warner Bros in November 2023. Despite ongoing praise from its producers, overwhelmingly positive test screenings and a $US70 million budget, the studio decided it would be better off as a $US30 million tax write-off. Its fate mirrored that of Batgirl and Scoob! Holiday Haunt , both of which were cancelled by Warner Bros the year prior.

“With the relaunch of Warner Bros Pictures Animation in June, the studio has shifted its global strategy to focus on theatrical releases,” a WB Motion Picture Group spokesperson told The Hollywood Reporter in 2023. “With this new direction, we have made the difficult decision not to move forward with Coyote vs Acme . We have tremendous respect for the filmmakers, casts and crew, and are grateful for their contributions to the film.”

The decision was driven by a desire to offset corporate losses, a strategy spearheaded by the studio’s new head, David Zaslav. But for those who worked on the film, as well as the Looney Tunes fans feverishly anticipating its release, it was a punch to the gut.

“We heard that Warner Bros was going to shelve it, but they still said we could come see the movie that next Tuesday. So, for the five or six days before that screening, I thought, ‘This is probably going to suck. If they’re going to shelve it, it can’t be good. Maybe these producers are just too deep in it to see that’. Then I showed up [to the screening] and I just loved it with all my heart. I was so proud of it, which was heartbreaking. I got so mad for a long time,” Forte says.

The film’s cancellation was especially disappointing given how broad he expected its appeal to be. Based on a 1990 New Yorker article by Ian Frazier, Coyote vs Acme tells Wile E. Coyote’s story. Fed up by the countless Acme products that have malfunctioned – costing him his lifelong dream of capturing the Road Runner – he decides to sue the major corporation with the help of Kevin Avery (Forte), a down-and-out billboard lawyer. This results in the unlikely pair going head-to-head with Acme’s chief executive, Foghorn Leghorn, as well as his ruthless lawyer Buddy Crane (Cena).

For Looney Tunes fans, it delivers a healthy dose of nostalgia, reconnecting audiences with “old buddies”.