Ketchup Entertainment is unsurprisingly planning a theatrical release for the film, which garnered quite a bit of attention over the last few years as a lightning rod for criticism of the anti-media conservationist policies of parent company Warner Bros. Discovery under CEO David Zaslav. Coyote vs. Acme is just one of many films and TV projects that the company had shelved, with other high-profile instances being Batgirl and Scoob! Holiday Haunt. This, in effect, makes the work of those actors, filmmakers and crew members totally invisible, trapped forever in completed films that will never see the light of day because it’s more profitable to not release the film and claim the subsequent losses as tax breaks.
Coyote vs. Acme, meanwhile, is a farcical legal comedy drama, in which the indefatigable predator Wile E. Coyote decides to sue the Acme Corporation, creators of so many of the gadgets he’s attempted to use (with disastrous results) over the years in his efforts to catch the Road Runner. Will Forte stars as Coyote’s attorney, Kevin Avery, with appearances from John Cena, Lana Condor, P.J. Byrne, Tone Bell, Martha Kelly and Erica Bauza. The official synopsis is as follows:
After every product made by the Acme Corporation has backfired on Wile E. Coyote in his pursuit of the Road Runner, a down-and-out billboard human attorney represents Wile E. in his lawsuit to sue Acme. A growing friendship between Wile E. Coyote and his lawyer motivates their determination to win the court case, as it pits them against the intimidating boss of Wile E.’s lawyer’s former law firm, who now represents Acme.
Hollywood producers will no doubt be watching the eventual 2026 theatrical release of Coyote vs. Acme closely, using it as some kind of measuring stick of how well internet activism and boisterousness actually translates into eventual ticket sales. Perhaps concerningly, despite positive reviews, the currently-in-theaters Day the Earth Blew Up has generated a somewhat tepid box office. With that said, the story of Coyote vs. Acme‘s route to theaters has been far more publicized, which should result in some additional curiosity, although one wonders if it might have been better to release the film in 2025 while that story is still relatively fresh in peoples’ minds. Regardless, we’ll look forward to finally seeing some footage (and eventually the whole feature) of Coyote vs. Acme when the epic saga of this Looney Tunes film finally draws to a close.
