Shelved no more: Coyote Vs Acme brings Looney Tunes back to big screen
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(From left) Wile E. Coyote, Lana Condor and Will Forte in Coyote Vs Acme.
PHOTO: SHAW ORGANISATION
- Coyote Vs Acme, a live-action Looney Tunes movie, was shelved in 2023 but secured a 2026 release after support from fans and filmmakers helped revive it.
- The film follows Wile E. Coyote suing Acme Corporation for faulty products, featuring Will Forte, Lana Condor and John Cena, with classic characters voiced by Eric Bauza.
- The movie aims to attract both long-time fans and new viewers, with cast members sharing their childhood connections to Looney Tunes; it releases on Aug 28, 2026.
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LOS ANGELES – For American director Dave Green, it was a “crazy miracle” that the live-action animated Looney Tunes comedy Coyote Vs Acme finally secured a 2026 release date after being shelved in 2023.
“We saw this incredible outpouring of support from friends and other film-makers and people we had never met, people who were fans of this brand, people who had never even seen Looney Tunes,” he said.
For the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out Of The Shadows (2016) director, Coyote Vs Acme’s survival after being dropped by Warner Bros Discovery and spending years in distribution limbo mirrored the movie’s central message of determination.
The film was eventually picked up by Ketchup Entertainment in 2025.
The movie follows Wile E. Coyote as he takes the Acme Corporation to court after its products repeatedly fail him in his pursuit of the Road Runner.
Represented by struggling attorney Kevin Avery (played by Will Forte), Wile E. seeks justice against the company. The film is based on Ian Frazier’s 1990 The New Yorker article Coyote v Acme.
“It’s really back to the spirit of resilience of Wile E. the character, and because that’s really what our audience did for us,” Green said. “They stood up and they did not stop standing up.”
The cast also includes Lana Condor as Kevin’s niece Paige Avery and John Cena as Acme’s attorney Buddy Crane.
(From left) Lana Condor, Wile E. Coyote and Will Forte in Coyote Vs Acme.
PHOTO: SHAW ORGANISATION
Long-time Looney Tunes voice actor Eric Bauza voices several beloved characters, including Daffy Duck, Bugs Bunny, Tweety Bird and Foghorn Leghorn.
“There’s so many classic characters that we tap upon in this film, that when one is done, you go to the next scene and you’re like, ‘Wait, who’s that in the background?’” Bauza, 46, said.
For Forte, 56, and Cena, 49, Looney Tunes has been a childhood staple.
“I was born in 1970, and I don’t remember life without Looney Tunes. It was a constant presence in my life,” Forte said.
Cena said that while he grew up with the cartoons, recreating the childhood experience is not a prerequisite for enjoying the film.
John Cena in Coyote Vs Acme.
PHOTO: SHAW ORGANISATION
“I’m in Will (Forte’s) camp. I grew up... with Looney Tunes. They were on in the morning before I went to school. They were on exactly at the time I got out of school in the afternoon. Network programmers knew what they were up to,” the wrestler-actor said.
Still, he stressed that Coyote Vs Acme is not solely for long-time fans.
Condor agreed, admitting that she was never a major Looney Tunes fan before joining the film.
“I’m such a loser,” the 29-year-old actress said. “My parents introduced me to Looney Tunes, and so did my grandparents. But I have to say, it wasn’t the biggest fixture in my house, which I’m so sad about.” REUTERS
Coyote Vs Acme opens in Singapore cinemas on Sept 3.
