Last year Warner Bros announced Coyote Vs Acme, a live-action / animated hybrid movie about the often-injured canid who finally decided to strike back against the source of his injuries by suing the Acme corporation. A small-time lawyer agreed to take his case, but representing Acme was his former boss from the law firm he just got kicked out of. John Cena was attached to the film, as the defense lawyer.
This was originally announced as a HBO Max movie, but right after the press release was sent, David Zaslav arrived and started punting TV movies into oblivion left and right. Coyote Vs Acme was spared for the time being — it was moved to their theatrical schedule, and was supposed to make its debut July 21, 2023. That time came and went without a peep.
Looks like the worst has been confirmed: WB has chosen not to release the film at all, but write its $74 million budget off and shelve it permanently. Director Dave Green is not happy: “For three years, I was lucky enough to make a movie about Wile E. Coyote, the most persistent, passionate, and resilient character of all time,” he tweeted after the announcement. “I was surrounded by a brilliant team, who poured their souls into this project for years. We were all determined to honor the legacies of these historic characters and actually get them right…I am beyond proud of the final product, and beyond devastated by WB’s decision. But in the spirit of Wile E. Coyote, resilience and persistence win the day.”
For those wondering what this movie looked like, a crew highlight reel was shared on Twitter (we’re never calling it what Musk wants us to). This is sure a lot of effort and real-world set pieces for nothing.
A crew reel has been posted for COYOTE Vs. ACME by a crew member who was on the project in the wake of the film being canned by WB for a tax write off despite getting rave reviews from test screenings and having multiple buyers wanting to distribute it: https://t.co/6iPJ1MaaJg pic.twitter.com/xPDjKFGEFW
— Weird-O (@Wierd_o78033920) November 10, 2023
You know all those people who keep insisting to this day that Batgirl was shelved because “it was bad”? They can’t say that this time. Test screenings of Coyote Vs Acme were highly positive. The general consensus was that WB had found their Roger Rabbit. And even if they didn’t want to distribute it, several companies had expressed interest in doing so, like GFM Animation is doing with Looney Tunes: The Day The Earth Blew Up.
Any way you add it up, there were multiple ways for WB to make more than they spent on Coyote Vs Acme by NOT letting it sit. So why let it sit? The press is completely, utterly baffled by this one and we’ll probably never get answers.
My theory is that Zaslav simply sees too much in common between himself and the Coyote. Both are extremely prone to setting money on fire by spending it on schemes that blow up in their faces. Both have a tendency to chase goals they’ll never, ever catch. It was just too close for comfort. How could the CEO not take it personally?
