Wile E. Coyote Goes to Court in COYOTE VS. ACME and It Looks Like a Ton of Fun!
The first trailer for Coyote vs. ACME is here, and it feels like a small miracle. After years of uncertainty and industry drama, the live-action/animation hybrid is officially heading to theaters on August 28.
For fans of Looney Tunes, this is one of those rare moments where a project that almost vanished actually gets a second shot.
Directed by Dave Green, the film centers on Wile E. Coyote doing something we’ve never seen before. He’s suing ACME. After countless failed gadgets and explosive mishaps in his endless chase of the Road Runner, the fed-up coyote finally takes the company to court.
It’s a fun concept pulled from a 1990 piece in The New Yorker, now reimagined as a courtroom comedy set inside the Looney Tunes world.
Will Forte leads the human cast as Coyote’s lawyer, going up against John Cena as opposing counsel. The script from Samy Burch leans into the absurdity, blending legal drama with classic cartoon chaos. And yes, familiar faces like Bugs Bunny and Daffy Duck pop up alongside some deeper-cut characters from the franchise.
As you know, the film was originally made for HBO Max and reportedly cost around $70 million to produce. Then in 2023, Warner Bros. shelved it entirely during a major shift in strategy under CEO David Zaslav.
It joined other canceled projects like Batgirl and Scoob! Holiday Haunt, sparking a lot of backlash since Coyote vs. ACME was already completely finished.
That decision didn’t sit right with a lot of people, and now we’re seeing that the movie actually looks like a blast. This movie should never should have been tossed aside in the first place.
The idea that Warner Bros. was ready to dump a film like this that actually looks good is kind of crazy, and now that it’s getting a real release, I hope it hits big at the box office just to prove how big of a mistake WB made.
Thankfully, 2025, Ketchup Entertainment stepped in and picked up the film for around $50 million, giving it a second life with a full theatrical rollout. It’s the kind of turnaround you don’t see very often, especially for a project that was essentially locked away.
Forte has stayed vocal about how much he believes in the project, and the trailer leans into the ridiculous premise while still treating the courtroom angle seriously enough to make it work. It looks like the kind of offbeat comedy that could really connect if audiences give it a shot.
There’s something satisfying about seeing a project survive this kind of situation and still make it to the big screen. Now it just needs to stick the landing when it finally hits theaters.