In August 2022, Hollywood was hit with the bombshell news that Batgirl had been scrapped, despite the then-upcoming DC movie having already been shot. Since then, a variety of tore projects from Warner Bros. Discovery have been set aside, and as of today, there’s another movie that’s been added to this unfortunate list. However, there’s is a silver lining to take into account with this news.
Earlier today, John Cena shared a series of cryptic Instagram posts, one of which was the Looney Tunes-style “The End” tag from so many of those classic animated shorts. At the time, it was speculated that this was him teasing the end of his WWE career, but it turns out that’s not the case at all. THR has learned that Warner Bros. is shelving Coyote vs. Acme, the animated/live-action hybrid Looney Tunes movie that Cena was set to star in as the president of the ACME Corporation. A spokesperson from the studio’s Motion Picture Group said the following about the movie no longer moving forward:
With the re-launch 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.
As anyone remotely familiar with Looney Tunes knows, Wile E. Coyote frequently has poor luck capturing the Road Runner using his various ACME Corporation products. Coyote vs. Acme was set to follow Wile trying to sue the company, with Will Forte playing his lawyer and John Cena playing ACME’s CEO. David Green directed the feature based off a humorous New Yorker article written by Ian Frazier in 1990, and DC Studios co-head James Gunn produced it and worked on the story. Coyote vs. Acme filmed from early April 2022 to late May of the same year, and it was originally supposed to come out on July 21, 2023, though Barbie ended up taking that date instead.
Now because the Warner Bros. Animation shakeup, the powers-that-be at the studio decided they didn’t want to release Coyote vs. Acme anymore. Sadly, as with Batgirl, the public will now have to imagine how the story would have unfolded since that footage will be locked away. David Green shared his own statement about his movie not seeing the light of day:
Amidst this major update though, there is a silver lining for Looney Tunes fans, as they can still look forward a new theatrical movie starring these kooky characters. Variety reports that the Warner Bros. Animation-produced The Day the Earth Blew Up: A Looney Tunes Movie is expected to be released in theaters in 2024’s second quarter, and GFM Animation launched worldwide sales for the movie at the American Film Market. The Day the Earth Blew Up, which was directed by Pete Browngardt, follows Daffy Duck and Porky Pig teaming up to save the world from an alien invasion.
Still, in an ideal world, we could have gotten both The Day the Earth Blew Up and Coyote vs. Acme, but that’s no longer in the cards in our reality. If you’re in the mood for watching some Looney Tunes content now, many of the franchise’s shows and shorts can be streamed with a Max subscription. Otherwise, you can look through our 2023 release schedule and 2024 release schedule to learn what movies are coming out in the near future.