Wile E. Coyote was silent in the original Looney Tunes series, but Will Forte is not holding back when it comes to Coyote vs. Acme. The film was “indefinitely shelved” by Warner Bros. Discovery back in November of 2023, in spite of being finished and ready for release. As the fate of the movie is now up in the air, Forte issued a statement to the cast and crew that is making waves on social media.
A note Forte had written for his colleagues made its way to social media on Thursday, noting that many of the people who worked on Coyote vs. Acme have never even gotten a chance to see the finished product. He wrote: “And sadly, it’s looking like you never will. When I first heard that our movie was getting ‘deleted,’ I hadn’t seen it yet. So I was thinking what everyone else must have been thinking: this thing must be a hunk of junk. But then I saw it. And it’s incredible.”
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Forte assured his colleagues that they had done incredible work to create a movie that was “super funny throughout, visually stunning, sweet, sincere, and emotionally resonant in a very earned way. As the credits rolled, I just sat there thinking how lucky I was to be a part of something so special. That quickly turned to confusion and frustration. This was the movie they’re not going to release?”
Back in November, Warner Bros. Discovery announced plans to put Coyote vs. Acme on the shelf without ever releasing it in order to obtain a $30 million tax write-down. It would have been the third movie to be “shelved” with this strategy, following Batgirl and Scoob! Holiday Haunt. Fan outcry reached an all-time high this time, with many people calling this trend “anti-competitive.” Finally, WBD allowed the filmmakers to shop the movie around to other distributors, but so far they have had no luck.
Forte was blunt, admitting that he does not understand everything about this situation and all the financial motivations behind it. He wrote: “Even when a movie tests very well (like ours), there’s no guarantee that it’s going to be a hit. And at the end of the day, the people who paid for this movie can obviously do whatever they want with it. It doesn’t mean I have to like it (I f-ing hate it). Or agree with it. And it doesn’t mean that this movie is anything less than magnificent.”
Forte’s main concern was for the colleagues left in the dark all this time, and the feelings of doubt they may be grappling with. He wrote: “You would be so proud of it, a movie that should be seen, but won’t. Please know that all these years and years of hard work, dedication, and love that you put into this movie shows in every frame. That’s all folks.”
Forte plays Wile E. Coyote’s lawyer in Coyote vs. Acme, while John Cena plays the lawyer for the Acme Corporation. The movie uses a mix of live-action and animated shots similar to others like Space Jam. It was written by Samy Burch, Jeremy Slater and James Gunn, and directed by Dave Green. The story is about Wile E. Coyote suing Acme because every device he has bought from them to capture the Road Runner has backfired.
Right now, the future of Coyote vs. Acme is unclear, with some reports that it may be shelved once and for all. Fans continue to petition WBD to release the movie, along with Batgirl and Scoob! Holiday Haunt.
