The financial axe of Warner Bros. has fallen on another film. Following in the shelved footsteps of Batgirl and Scoob! Holiday Haunt last year, the studio has decided to put another film — this one finished and ready to release — into its vault. The latest victim of the baffling, if monetarily lucrative procedure is Coyote Vs. Acme, which stars John Cena.
Earth To Echo's Dave Green directed the film, with Samy Birch on script duty (adapting a New Yorker article of the same title by Ian Frazier). James Gunn (who currently runs WB's DC Studios) worked on the story and is an executive producer.
The live-action/animated film follows Wile E. Coyote, who after ACME products fail him one too many times in his dogged pursuit of the Roadrunner, decides to hires a billboard lawyer to sue the ACME Corporation. The case pits Wile E. and his lawyer against the latter’s intimidating former boss (Cena), but a growing friendship between man and cartoon stokes their determination to win.
Coyote Vs. Acme was greenlit at the end of 2020 and shot in 2022, originally planned for the streaming service then called HBO Max, but a cinematic release date was later announced for July of this year. Yet it was quietly removed from the schedules and replaced by Barbie. No trailer for the film – which reportedly tested well – was ever released.
This was WB Motion Picture Group's statement on the latest move by the studio: "With the relaunch of Warner Bros. Pictures Animation in June, the studio has shifted its global strategy to focus on theatrical releases. 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."
Director Green weighed in via social media: