Warner Bros. Discovery has had a change of heart and decided not to bury the film Coyote vs. Acme at Road Runner-like speed after all. The studio is allowing director Dave Green to take his live-action/animation hybrid movie to other potential buyers instead of shelving it for a tax write-off, The Hollywood Reporter confirmed. Amazon is one of the contenders, with screenings for potential buyers happening this month. Puck first reported the news on the reversal.
This comes after The Hollywood Reporter’s report that Coyote vs. Acme would become Warners’ third already-shot film to get shelved after the cancellations of nearly completed projects Batgirl and Scoob! Holiday Haunt in August 2022. Filmmakers who had business at the studio started a support group of sorts to share their hopes and anxieties after the cancellations. The one question all of them had: What was going on with their movies?
The cancellation of Coyote vs. Acme roiled the creative community, as it had been positioned as a one-off change in strategy that would not happen again. The film had already been fully completed and tested multiple times in the 90s. According to sources, the movie, which stars Will Forte, John Cena, and Lana Condor, is a crowd-pleaser with great potential.
After Batgirl was shelved, a narrative emerged that the film was axed because it wasn’t very good. The studio’s CEO David Zaslav had declared during a 2022 investor’s call that their job was to protect the DC brand. But industry friends of director Dave Green have mobilized to prevent similar messaging from tainting the reputation of Coyote vs. Acme. A planned “funeral screening” was scheduled, but now that the film may ultimately find a new home, things are uncertain.
The decision to shelve a film for a tax write-off can make an earnings quarter look better but may be short-sighted for a studio in the business of building franchises and a slate. As Hollywood takes a hard turn from the streaming boom golden age, it’s clear that the industry is going through significant transformations. Despite the aggressive tax strategies, there’s hope that the film will find a new home and avoid being lost in the shuffle.
The plot of Coyote vs. Acme follows the speechless, ever-determined Wile E. Coyote as he teams up with a lawyer to fight the big ACME corporation. Just like in the cartoons, Coyote buys ACME devices to try and kill Road Runner, but they never work properly, and often abruptly explode. The film could be a hit in the vein of Who Framed Roger Rabbit. It’s a fun, popcorn-style movie that has the potential to do well in the box office.
