In a recent interview with The Wrap, long time wrestler and film actor John Cena was asked about what he thought of the shelving of the Looney Tunes movie, Coyote Vs Acme. A film a lot of people really want to see, but for whatever reason, WB CEO David Zaslav decided to shelve the film's release back in November 2023 due to tax reasons. Everybody complained, and they tried to shop it around, but many people believe this was done in bad faith as WB refused all offers from interested parties such as Netflix, Amazon, and Paramount (the latter whom wanted to provide a theatrical release for the movie) all bid under the asking price of $70 million. The Live Action - CGI Hybrid Looney Tunes movie would have featured fan favourite protagonist Wile E. Coyote as he decides hire a down on his luck lawyer played by Will Forte, to sue the ACME corporation (represented by John Cena as ACME CEO), over all of the failed devices Coyote had used in the past to try and catch Roadrunner.
The film sounded like a fun presence and featured a mixture of live action and heavy focus on 2D Animation much like the classic 80's film Who Framed Roger Rabbit or 2022's "Chip 'N Dale" movie.
Many Looney Tunes fans including myself were very sad when we found out that the movie wasn't going to be released. The X hashtag #ReleaseCoyoteVsAcme became a thing, which ended up being one of the highest trending X hashtags for months, even Voice Actor Eric Bauza (who plays several characters in the film) yelled out "RELEASE COYOTE VS ACME!" while presenting the Annie Awards earlier this year which resulted in applause to thousands of attendants in the crowd.
Now John Cena has been interviewed by film website TheWrap, while promoting his latest action flick Jackpot for Amazon Prime. There have been several new John Cena movies released on Amazon Prime lately, such as Freelance & Ricky Stanicky, both ended up being in the top 10 on Prime, and now Jackpot has climbed to the #1 top spot in the films category in Australia.
When asked about the cancellation of the movie while promoting Jackpot, Cena provided his opinion on the matter;
"There’s a lot there. And everyone’s perspective is different. We don’t own the film. That’s the tough part about this business, you do have a sense of ownership because you invest heart and soul. And [director] Dave Green and everybody involved, we made what we thought was a good movie."
"I would have liked to seen it given a chance. But I’m just one person. And if it was shelved, I would have to think that it was shelved for the right reasons and it was a good business decision. I think I would have tremendous regret and shame if I look back on the legacy of the movie and it was shelved for reasons other than that. So I have to believe in the process. And I love the movie, my heart and soul is in there, but it’s somebody else’s project to do what they want with and they’ve chosen accordingly."
John Cena's comments about the film stay respectable to the film industry. While he enjoyed working on the movie, he's sad that Warner Bros never gave it a chance, but it's certainly just the movie business, and sometimes not all of these decisions are fun.
Recently, another upcoming Looney Tunes movie; The Day The Earth Blew Up! was purchased by Ketchup Entertainment for a release later in the year. It was saved from the Warner Bros Grave Yard. Can Ketchup Entertainment PLEASE buy Coyote VS Acme too?! We'd love to see it.
Earlier this year, screenwriter Samy Burch revealed that they were currently in talks with WB about the release of Coyote vs Acme, but sadly, it's been a long time and we haven't had any updates since. With the recent rescue of The Day The Earth Blew Up , it still shows that there is a big demand for Looney Tunes with modern audiences today.
Back in April 2024, Warner Bros changed course on its decision and announced that "Coyote VS Acme is still up for acquisition" so maybe, if a potential buyer is willing to come forward and fork over $70 million to release the film, hopefully it can escape the Warner Bros Grave Yard too!
Completed films should be released and not shelved for tax purposes. Or if all else fails, it should be leaked or put in the public domain. Hopefully this isn't the last time we'll ever hear about Coyote vs Acme.
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